DBJ

A Ghostrider refurb would be ideal of course. But if that doesn't happen, I would suspect that it might be a quiet year for the park in 2016. Iron Reef is a pretty major addition. Would be nice to see them develop Soak City a bit more.

I think the stand-up water slide would be cool as an addition to a water play structure. Or as a fun way to zip around a water park in short bursts. As a stand-alone attraction, well, not that thrilling over other slides.

Of the commercial tie-ins announced so far, I think Walking Dead is the best choice so far. I think the property lends itself far more easily to be recreated in a spectacle that Universal can do well with. Last year, the real walking dead was that incredible line on the lower lot! When you look over that sea of humanity waiting in that massive line, that is my idea of a horror night.

I like a lot of the design work. The Tron coaster is an interesting way to do the enclosed coaster of the other Tomorrowlands. Really responding the swooping lines of the roof design. Quite striking. The Pirates theme is pretty amazing in the concept art. And who doesn't love a dinosaur on a rapids ride? That Adventure Isle could turn out to be quite special. The art is pretty spectacular and really gives a sense of place. Interesting that they did opt for a rapids in a mountain like DCA vs. something like Everest at AK. All in all, very impressive. For an initial attraction and entertainment line-up for a new Disney park, it is easily one of the best.

On a completely different note, what is the opinion / review of the upgraded 4k Soarin' ? I haven't made it back onto that ride since it re-opened. Also, I saw the ride through of Peter Pan online, it is pulling some pretty impressive lines so I usually try to swing back there when it is less busy. Anyone see it in person? On video, the upgrades seem charming and not overdone.

Thanks for the photo. Good to see some progress on the attraction!

I would agree. The movie trailer for one is not impressive. I think it barely even works as a horror movie. The other problem is that the movie primarily is about this haunted house, an amazingly designed, intricate location. I think to expect them to capture that level of detail in a temp attraction is too much to ask for from the designers. I have a feeling it will be heavily recycled generic gothic props that have appeared in other mazes before such as the bland Dracula maze. Also, there is no central monster, it is a ghost story, and the ghosts look just like any other ones you have seen in many, many other movies.

So there is a rumor going around that the Innoventions building may become an exhibit for Star Wars. Certainly is more than enough legacy material to make an amazing museum and promotional vehicle for the new batch of films. Wonder what condition the original Star Tours movie is in? It would be a good bit of nostalgia to see that again. No doubt that Disney wins on the tax issue.

I would merge Indiana Jones & Everest. I kind of picture an Indiana Jones like dark ride, where during the escape from the rolling ball, you hit the launch section of the ride and escape out into the jungle / mountains into high speed roller coaster section.

Those do look great! Love a good gourmet grilled cheese! I like using Hawaiian sweet bread, pesto butter, applewood smoked bacon myself. Needless to say, appreciate the food coverage side of TPR.

That is a great LA times article! Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the video! That does look pretty intense. While I don't think the park needs a lot more flat rides, I think it does need a bit more diversity in the whole package. Attractions like Justice League for example. The entertainment side of the park is not amazing, but i give them credit for trying on the budget. Can't recall the last time I saw something amazing in the theater next to Riddler's for example.

Very glad to see them investing into the CA parks on such a large scale. If construction is no later than 2017, then we might see something mentioned at D23 in 2016. Entertainment wise, the both parks seem to be pretty solid with the new WOC and night time DL parade/ fireworks. And they will ride that 60th anniversary merchandising train for awhile, with Pan opening in a few weeks and the Flying Tires in DCA maybe late fall or early 2016. As far as completely new rides, I would most likely look to what else is being built at the other parks. My wish list would be to place the Frozen mini-land (from TDS) on top of Autopia and the Subs, expanding Fantasyland. Be great to see a much longer version of 7 dwarves style coaster zipping about. For Tomorrowland, focus more on the heroes of the Disney Marvel brand. I would like to see T-land gain the Iron Man attraction from Hong Kong for example in the Innovations building. Or relocate Star Tours to the rumored expansion, and drop in Iron Man there and use Innovations for another dark ride experience. The Magic Eye theater gain a new ride /film, not just semi-static seats. Universal's Despicable Me I think has a good way to present these kind of film attractions. Space Mountain could easily take on interior remodel. I don't consider that ship in the station to be iconic in any way, although I am not a Disney-never-change-walt's-vision kind of guy, but no reason it has to remain a generic ship. There was a rumor about a flat ride going on top of Space Mt., plenty of space there for something new (Jet Pack flat ride from Shanghai?) between that and the starcade. Of course, do something with People Mover. For Star Wars land, assuming it is indeed on top of ToonTown. Next time you are there, imagine Tattoine overlay on the existing buildings, the height of what is currently there kind of works. Relocate Star Tours to new venue, change out theme to Gadget and R. Rabbit. Although with Rabbit, expand the loading area and the vehicles size to accommodate more guests. Looking overseas, the Tron Coaster could possibly be a good choice for the big "Star Wars" attraction. But so could a variation on R. Races from DCA, swap out land speeders or speeder bikes for Cars. Pretty easy to see it when you walk down the street and think about Flo's being replaced by Mos Eisley Cantina, and there certainly is enough merchandise from Star Wars to fill all the various gift shops.

If I was, I would insist on the Peoplemover being brought back to life, removed altogether, or alter the shade providing sections of it into something resembling Fremont Street in Vegas. Great photos of the hot dogs btw!

Actually, still waiting for Fast and the Furious to be turned into a theme park ride. Can't help wonder how well this would work using the Transformers ride system instead. Well, hope that happens in Florida or Japan, so the franchise does have a proper thrill ride. For Hollywood, vast improvement over the tunnel of course, and a good finale showpiece for the tour.

That does sound like an amazing coaster addition. Interesting that they did not choose to expand Harry Potter, but went with a B&M flyer instead. Looking forward to seeing the concept art. USH would be lucky to even get a Zamperla Kite Flyer. As usual, the parks in Japan continue to impress.

That is also a good use of the Frozen short film for that theater. I hope that Disneyland uses the Frozen film over here in the Magic Eye theater this year, although I suspect it will be a dark venue most of the summer until they are ready to promote Star Wars.

Nice to see a more interesting layout for this type of ride. Sometimes we don't see much uniqueness in family coasters, glad to see them going the extra mile. Concept art is quite striking. The only design element I would change would be the lift itself. I think with a snake theme, a spiral lift would be a good fit.

I actually would like to see innovation in the water park experience. There has to be more achievable than just wave pools and slides. Hope Universal can achieve something amazing. The concept art is quite nice.

Thanks for the link for the webcams!

That does look like a very nice visual enhancement.

That is pretty incredible attraction for a Six Flags park! Thanks for the photos and videos. Good to see they have found a way to bring a very high quality attraction to the park. I hope they continue to expand on their relationship with Sally Corp. and see many more future installations.

For those who have seen StormRider, what was the audience reaction to seeing that design of the ship? Tokyo Disney, at least, will close an attraction like this and then build a replacement in two years. Meanwhile, in the US, crickets. They really are the best example of a Disney park.

Great report and pics! I look forward to seeing it soon hopefully.

I would never want to see the effect completely replace the AA and practical sets in the attractions themselves. It looks and works great when used as an enhancement, not a complete replacement. I hope to see more clever uses of it going forward as they refurb the attractions. Generally, I find the effect to be more of a "wow" when used on a large scale. When they do the holiday version of "It's a Small World", and they transform the façade, pretty cool. Or some of the examples at WDW. When they apply the effect to Main Street later this month, no doubt it will be the most impressive use at Disneyland so far. Very curious to see if Pan uses it later this summer as well.