DBJ

That is very interesting seeing Fox get into the theme park business in more regions. . Time Warner parks in the U.S. would be great, the managment of TW seems to think rather short term, and did not have the Disney mindset of playing the long game. Of all the studios, they had the brands to carry a theme park but instead settled for just royalty deals with Six Flags and Universal.

Some of my observations about visiting Disneyland. 1.) Can't disagree with starting in DCA. Upon arrival, you will have the option to either go into FP lane for RR, or head straight to the attraction. If you want to experience the ride twice in the day, I would opt to wait out in the FP lane for RR. The line looks massive, especially when it looks like it wraps back down through Hollywood, but it does move. After getting the FP, I would continue into the standby lane for RR if under 1/2 hour or so. The decor is quite nice, and a great time to take pictures over 30/40 minutes. The flats in Carlsand are ok, an worth it if it is a short wait. 2.) TSMM should be next priority. No FP, and line gets very long. When walking towards it, you will pass CA Screaming. It may be a walk on or very short wait early in the morning, so I would FP the attraction, then go into standby if the line is 10 to 20 minutes. Head to TSMM, and afterwards wrap up the FP use for CA Screaming. Work you way towards GRR. 3.) Mickey's wheel of death, boards incredibly slowly, and the perspective from inside the cage is not amazing. If it is a walk on, then do the swinging section. You will pass Goofy sky school, depending on your fondness for mice coasters and line lengthit could be worth a ride. You will pass Little Mermaid, skip it, instead to prioritize the FP for GRR and WOC. 4.) If you want to enjoy and amazing meal and see WOC, here is the option of doing the dining package at Carthay Circle. Carthy is more expensive, but with the dining package, you get a reserved section for WOC that is in a good location. Otherwise, get the WOC FP and the FP for GRR at the same time. Bounce down to Soarin, then back towards GRR. Depending on your GRR return time, you can also enjoy Little Mermaid. For some great photos, walk the paths around GRR. 5.) Then it is time for Tower of Terror. It is a personal favorite of mine. In the area, while waiting for you FP return time, you can catch the Muppet Movie 3D - at least it's in a/c environment, Monsters (if a walk on), of if you have a longer wait and the timing works, the Aladdin stage show which is quite good. Some things at Disneyland to possibly make the day go better. The corn dog line gets huge for the cart in the hub, but the same corn dog is sold at Stage Door Cafe, near Pirates, and the seating overlooks the river. If you want a cheaper lunch and happen to be in T. Land, hop on the monorail and leave the park. The exit for the monorail drops you very close to Earl of Sandwich and Rainforest Cafe. The monorail also gives some good views of the park. Matterhorn is not on the FP system, so I always opt to FP for Space Mt. then head towards Matterhorn. While waiting for a Splash MT. FP, I enjoy the canoes around the Rivers of America, still pretty unique for our region. If you are waiting for a Roger Rabbit FP time, check out Mickey's Magical Map, pretty well done little show and the iconic (for good and bad) Small World. One quirky thing to do to kill time at DL is the train around the park. I think it is more enjoyable at dusk/early night, when the lights come on. Very nice to be able to rest on something after a long day of walking. Also, the comedy show in the Golden Belle is actually pretty funny, worth watching if you have time to kill before redeeming a FP for Big Thunder.

I was catching up on my Star Wars movie news the other day, and it occurs to me that it is likely that we will see the theater become a Star Wars/Marvel movie preview center for the next few years. With a plethora of Star Wars movies in the works, mixed in with the occasional Marvel titles theatrically and on Netflix, I can see the theater not really having a dedicated show ever again.

Great photos! And one fantastic preview / reveiew of the area. Thanks! I am very much looking forward to getting back to Florida to check out the park. The execution is just simply stunning. The food looks absolutely fantastic. I really shouldn't read the reviews while hungry!

The restoration turned out well. I do hope they have a plan to add some a themed shade structure to the exterior portion of the line. I appreciate the increased attention paid to the overall look of the Snoopy area. It is the little touches that make a huge difference.

I like the previews as well. Maleficient worked really well over at DCA. The 3D DCA experience was actually better than the 3D at theater. Guardians would make a great permanent replacement for EO in the future.

For first time visit, I would attempt to get there at park opening. The ride order I would generally do would be to head straight to the lower lot. I personally love the Transformers ride, so typically I would do that first. Depending on the line build up, either do Transformers twice in a row, or then head to Mummy, repeat depending on line. Depending on weather, bounce over to Jurrassic Park. If timing works out, possibly to knock out those three lower lot attractions in less than an hour, multiple times even. There is a listing of wait times on the lower lot for the park by the stairway. I always consult that before heading up to the upper lot. Head back up to upper lot, eyeball the wait times for Despicable Me and The Simpsons, and choose accordingly. After finishing the "rides", you can take in Waterworld or Tram Tour. Both are high capacity , and line moves quickly. The in-park food is not amazing. I find it better to snack in the park, then to have an actual meal there, because there are so many better options on the Citywalk. Right outside the gates is Saddle Ranch, which is pretty good if you are a fan of bbq. Bubbba Gump shrimp can be ok, Hard Rock is average, Johnny Rockets is decent, and there is the typical food court option across from the movie theater as well.

Wow thanks for posting that! Pretty amazing to read all the details.

For my home parks. 1.) SFMM - some new kind of experience. I have take a lot of ride surveys over the years, and have yet to see any of those ride concepts go into execution. Be nice to see one. Like to see Hurricane Harbor expand. 2.) Universal. Going pretty well. 3.) Disneyland & DCA. Well, a lot more refurbs coming up, but not much in the way of new. Be nice to see something done with Maliboomer's grave. Not a huge fan of flat rides, but if their intent is to really use the Starcade/Space Mt. area as a location for a new attraction as rumored, be great to see that in 2015. 4.) Knott's. Like to see an exceptional new attraction for the park. I find some of the installations in the other Cedar Fair parks encouraging for the future KBF.

I certainly agree that the Universal theme parks, under Comcast ownership, are really showing what can be achieved in short amounts of time. Very, very happy that the old way of thinking was swept away. I love that they are pushing forward at such a rapid rate. It is not like they are even stopping with Daigon Alley, dusting off Kong for yet another attraction. I appreciate their efforts in trying to bring in either new or modified tech to present their attractions.

I remember for a long time (urban legend?) the reason for OTSR is that it is a CA regulation. Is that actually true though? While it would be nice to see a restoration of Revolution, really hope the money goes somewhere else. Unless they can do it on a reasonable budget, but generally I am hoping SFMM is thinking bigger, as a way to be competitive against Universal in 2016.

I was there today. The following attractions were closed. Splash Mountain broke down, Big Thunder broke down, Pirates not open at all, Nemo, Alice, Small World, of course along with DCA's GRR. It is one thing to raise prices, but when the actual park experience degrades at the same time, that is a probelm. Ate for the first time at Rancho, by Big Thunder and the carne asada plate was pretty good. They offer free refills, slighlty difficult to get them due to cashier location.

ROL looks nice, although I wonder about the location and if they are planning on additional space for guests? I assume it is standing room only. The one thing I really wish DCA would have done is to have a seated venue to watch WOC. After being on the feet for all day, it would be nice to sit down like Fantasmic at DHS. Also, I find it interesting that they are expanding AK with a water show then moving into creating a complete land, much in the same way the DCA expansion unfolded. The bird show reminds me instantly of Rio 2, and good to see them developing new animal attractions as well.

It is great to see the future of the AA, quite impressive. Be nice to see that when the tech rolls out across the various dark rides across the disney parks. It took some time, but the completed fantasyland turned out exceptional.

Has anybody attended the AAA auto club private party event? It is scheduled for May 9th, curious as to what the crowd levels are like and how much of the park is operating? The sports bar is ok looking, a bit on the bland side. Sometimes I do wonder if they actually hire interior designers or not. The food menu doesn't look bad but not sure I want to take the risk on eating in the park given past experiences. Merchandising has always been a issue with the park. This generic Hot Topic style of merchandise must sell to someone somewhere in the SF chain as this style of wearable garbage has been in the park for a long time. Like a fungus, it never really goes away, just mutates into a new form.

Ghostrider was far and away my favorite coaster in this area, for a bit. Loved it those first few years. I am mixed about the direction Knott's is heading. One one hand, preserving their uniqueness is great with the restoration of Calico, the peek-ins, etc. The push with more special events is great. One the other hand, I feel the recent additions to the attraction roster have been and continue to be just freakishly bland and devoid of creativity for a theme park. For a carnival sure, but for America's first theme park, not quite hitting the mark there. And poor Soak City, didn't know they were creating a water park musuem in 1999. Was the Pacific Spin the last major ride added? So going forward, more creativity in bringing themed attractions to the Knott's and for them to remember Soak City exists, and then I would say they are on a good track.

I can imagine Knott's without MZ. How has Wicked Twister performed for Cedar Point over the years? Or a installation similar to the former Speed in Las Vegas? I think there are plenty of options to create a similar experience to MZ once it reaches the end of it's operational life.

The last survey I received was about food. Looks like the same survey that was sent out for the other parks. I, or course, shared my opinion with the design of the structure being poor. Also, they need to address the environment in which guests are going to enjoy their food. I some areas of SFMM in particular, the outdoor seating is fairly abysmal. The last ride survey I received is similar to the one that Screamscape reported on. My only takeaway from that survey was that I wish they would actually expand Hurricane Harbor with a new tower or attraction, and not a modification of an exisiting attraction. More attractions for shorter lines, esp. for HH. Enhancing the existing attractions should be an ongoing process irregardless.

So where are the parking garages going? To me, I always felt that the lot in front of the the main gate is a missed chance to do a mixed use space for parking and retail, if not a small hotel tower. I am glad to see the tram tour go for a night time edition. Having night scenes with the Uni classic Monsters and a lit up Whoville, etc. is a great idea.

I am hoping they actually do something with that Carrot Club theater. I honestly didn't even know they were still using that space for any form of entertainment at all. It would be great if they put in a modest 4D theater in there for the kids. San Diego Zoo recently opened the Rio 4D film attraction, which is a nice little bonus attraction for the zoo. It would be good for SFMM to have a small scale family 4D film attraction for the parents with kids. I can only see Sky Tower being relevant again if they did indeed use it as part of a zip line experience.

It looks like a great expansion for the resort. Great to see a new coaster with the drop ride pre-planned. The other race track ride looks like that is a kart ride. All in all, should be quite striking visually. Although, I think the front of the hotel is a tad odd looking.

I have done it once and know several people who have. It's a fun way to watch the show. An assorted dessert box and a hot beverage. And no fighting for a spot to see the show. But I love Carthay. It's really what interests you more: A good meal, or a good seat. Thanks for the tip! We decided to go with Carthay, the food looks fantastic. Can't wait!

Thanks for the video and pics! Also, read that some of the 60th anniversary upgrades to the dark rides are still a possibility. I suppose those announcements would be saved for the D23 convention. I am looking forward to see if any news of a major new attraction for Disneyland is announced in 2014, or if any of it is saved as a spoiler for when HP opens up at Universal.

Looks great, glad to see the ride back in action. I'll be going on the 30th. Question, has anybody done the Fantasmic dessert package? I am trying to decide between doing Carthay Circle or the Fantasmic dessert package for that night. Thanks!

Great pics! The Simpson's area is looking great with the location of those games, and a huge improvement over their prior theme. Wasn't it Flintstones for the theme of those games for the longest time? Despicable Me does look great, and certainly blends in better with the surrounding area quite a bit more than the old Terminator attraction.