DBJ

So what are the odds of these rides being completed in 2011? Per wikipedia, which is a questionable source to say the least, the Hollywood version would not open until 2012. It kind of makes sense, as the local ads for the park are playing up King Kong 360 as the main focus of their marketing. Great video! I am very interested to seeing how Transformers is adapted into this style of attraction.

Great pics. It's like looking at a brochure for the park! Also a fan of the side streets of Universal and the details that have gone into the environments. Really completes the sense of immersion.

That is one fine looking dark ride. The sculpture work is just amazing. Looking forward to seeing how it all comes together as a finished product.

I live a stone's throw from Universal Studios Hollywood. SFMM is about 1/2 hour away. Disneyland Resort and Knott's are not that bad of a drive at very select times of the day.

Wow! Great shots. Those look like works of fine art. Thanks for posting.

I should mean to clarify during my experiences at the park i did see the car hang there. It's good to know that it can come to a full stop up there. Then I agree that if they can change the ride to do the stop every time, that would be amazing.That would be a truly scary experience! And i would love that.

The new plans are a huge improvement. Love the fact they actually are building a new coaster, even if it's tame by most standards, far better than creating an entire area devoted to one segment of their audience. Imo, the area is more balanced than before. Still not sure they needed another premium eatery there, but maybe their research shows that they do? The circus area is still a tad out of place in context to the rest of the structures. If they went along the lines of a medieval fair instead of a circus, at least it would blend more in with the rest of Fantasyland.

I remember back in the day coming very, very close to the top. It felt like we during one ride almost touch Superman. Would not be surprised if from the ground it looked like the car was being held at the top by the magnets. If the car did almost reach the top, the strength of the magnets would hold the car up there for a moment or two longer than normal before the weight of the car and gravity took over? I would very much doubt that the magnets are strong enough to freeze the car in it's place until mechanics come to the rescue. But, a hold when the car approaches the top I am pretty sure I remember seeing. Then rushing up Superman hill to ride it because it was going faster than normal that day. It's been so long since I've seen it actually even approach the red zone, I'm actually just glad that it's getting close! Very glad they dumped the "Little Flash" name. If Flash is going to be part of the DC Universe section of the park one day, a roller skater is not the coaster type that best represents the character. At least Road Runner fits into BBW perfectly. Actually also like the DC Universe name. Backlot literally made no sense. It's not like the ride or any other attraction in the "Backlot" was related to movie production.

Theme park wise, looking forward to how The Transformers attraction turns out at USH. Also, it will be my first time on a Zac Spin at SFMM and curious about how Superman turns out. Can't forget about Star Tours at Disneyland opening in May - although that might be tricky because of crowds when it first opens.

Psyclone and Sierra Twist! It is like a blast from the recent past.

Oh wow, didn't know that! I hope it works out for the park. Are they still having problems with the city council?

Ah, there it is. Thanks for the info! More than I expected. It will be nice to see Sea World get a big attraction for 2012. I am usually pretty impressed with how they incorporate the theme into the overall coaster experience.

I've read the rumors over at Screamscape, about the "Manta" theme coaster possbily going into the park. Does anyone here know anymore about it? The rumor of a Bluefire style ride sounds pretty promising.

I'm still perplexed by Pistachio Park. The park you can't walk through or sit in, although I'm sure it's because of certain types of guests who would have no problem vandalizing the trees. Bummer about the bbq leaving. Kind of hope that SFMM goes with some more local food vendors, or at least continues on the path towards overall food quality improvement. Until they can get their own food ops up to a better quality, i could only pray they look they get more ambitious with the brands that come into the park. Or even go the DCA route and bring in food trucks for a bit. There really is not a lot of options for healthier eating at the park. And there certainly is a bit of improvement to be done regarding the overall visual state of the park. I just pray that once everything is in, they find a better way to hide Thomas Town. Little Flash - really hope they change that height limit, and name to something reflective of Looney Tunes. Is Road Runner taken or something? Tossing in a random DC comics reference just seems out of place. Speaking of Thoams Town, since the Glow in The Dark Parades are on the chopping block, they could have ship the floats out here, and put them around the train circuit. Toss in some cheap licensed kid's music, and there you go. At least kids would have something to look at on the train ride.

Mine was King Kong 360 at Universal Studios Hollywood. The 3D was blurry, and the lack of good seats to actually see the entire filmed segment was quite obvious / irritating. Sit too far in the back or in the middle, and forget about it. For all the brilliant commercials, I was expecting quite a bit more. Not as absurdly pointless as Fast and The Furious on the tram tour, but then again, what is?

That's a good observation about Toon Lagoon. Of all the lands at IOA..it is the one that screams "we are the cheapest ip's to license out!". They really did scrape the barrel to find children's characters that had at least some name reconginition, and that would not bring them into conflict with the other media companies. Speaking of mod's, probably time for them to look at switching the entire area over to a singular franchise.

I'll toss in Paramount exiting the theme park business. Only to express interest in entering again, but in Asia. It's quite amazing that another media company could own a theme park chain, and have no clue how to exploit their intellectual properties properly. This, despite pretty clear examples from Disney and Universal. Conceptually, I think the Disney strategy of incremental theme park builds - where the initial park is lackluster, only to be continually added to over the years, is deeply flawed. Saw something on the web that it has been Disney's strategy since the opening of the former MGM Studios at WDW. It's refelcted in Paris, Hong Kong, CA, FL, and so on. To me, I just don't get it beyond it's as a way to minimize risk. But it is hard to top the non-construction / announced plans of the various theme parks of Dubai for greatest potential, but least results.

Over at Miceage, they have the timetable and what not. I agree, it seems crazy long to re-do an entrance for a year. In many ways, the rebuild does seem rather crazy, and out of order. To have the entrance in shambles the same year that the first big name ride goes opens - the Little Mermaid, seems odd. I imagine they have to have the entrance plaza finished way before Carsland, as the flood of expected visitors will come pouring in. So maybe this is the only time they could do it on this year's budget? One thing that struck me when I saw the original plans was why not extend the park border even farther if they are moving the entrance forward anyway? But, that's not meant to be. However another rumor I read was that the entry plaza between both parks may get spruced up and transformed a bit from the barren plot it is now, to something a bit nicer. That would be a great improvement.

Good news for Universal. I wonder if this will encourage them to part ways with the Marvel license if Disney does offer to buy it? Switch out Spider-man for Tranformers, and there is your tentpole attraction for a "Sci-Fi" city. Maybe that will help split crowds between different sides of the park? The shell of LC certainly is ideal for the Potter expansion. Sinbad is not a beloved attraction by any stretch of the imagination. Poseidon definately would be a stretch to fit into the Potter mythos, but pretty sure they could find a way to do a magic battle with the existing infrastructure. Or junk it, as use most of it a line for a whole new attraction.

I would say Desparado at Buffalo Bil'l's, Primm Nevada. It's the only coaster I've been on recently where i thought I was going to actually be seriously hurt. Left with a sore shoulder.

The LA Times writer Brady MacDonald has another article about post Cars-land plans, all of which sound very promising. Also is very similar to other rumors I have read around the internet. Highlights and my thoughts. "* An E-Ticket ride next to California Screamin', with an entrance in the helix of the roller coaster track leading to a new backstage attraction. (This I had head rumors of, but I wonder about how much backstage space there really is behind Screamin.) * A D- or E-Ticket attraction in the other helix where Maliboomer once stood. The area is currently being turned into a character meet-and-greet location. (I guess characters in a "park like setting") * An E-Ticket ride in place of Goofy's Sky School, itself a rethemed version of the Mulholland Madness wild mouse roller coaster. Current proposals for the location include an original thrill ride or a character-based attraction. An early concept called for a Ratatouille coaster to occupy the space. (Is there room though for a true E-ticket ? I don't think the coaster is bad, just that it would be much better as an completely enclosed ride.) * Disney's original plans called for the since-removed Maliboomer drop tower to become a Green Army Men parachute drop ride. The same "Toy Story" theme could replace the nearby Jumpin' Jellyfish ride, which was originally scheduled for removal..(Which i don't think they should do, at least Jellyfish ties in much closer to Little Mermaid) *Early plans called for the Fun Wheel Ferris wheel and the California Screamin' queue to get entrance facades to match the Paradise Pier area's new Victorian seaside theme. (I hope this still comes true!) * Imagineers have previously discussed Halloween and Christmas holiday overlays for the Toy Story Midway Mania dark ride. ( I would not be surprised to see WOC to also get the Halloween and Christmas theme shows in the near future.) *Grizzly River Rapids receives animatronic bears, condors and other creatures once envisioned for the raft ride. Animatronic characters under construction for the Grizzly Trail area at Hong Kong Disneyland would fit perfectly. (I'm sure this is way on the back burner, as the ride is popular without them.) * An E-Ticket ride in place of the Redwood Creek Challenge Trail. Proposals for the location include an outdoor adventure attraction or a mine-train ride. (Maybe the same coaster from Hong Kong? ) * A circuitous train ride around Grizzly Peak as envisioned in concept art featured in the "Disney Mountains: Imagineering at its Peak" book. ( I doubt this would happen, because of lack of space.) * The Soarin' Over California hang-gliding tour makes way for the long-awaited Soarin' Over the World replacement. (About time. And imo, time to replace A Bug's Life. Also, the Muppet movie could use a refresh too, perhaps to tie in with the actual new Muppet movie out next Thanksgiving.) If Mickey's Phil does ever migrate over to the west coast, I would hope that it goes to Disneyland, in a new theater, somewhere near Toontown. There's more in the main article. And I did read also the parts of Carsland are being left open to allow for further retail or attractions. http://www.latimes.com/travel/deals/themeparks/la-trb-disney-california-adventure-phase2-20101210,0,4894115.story?page=1

It certainly does look strikingly similar to DHS! I was kind of hoping they would address the issue of the junkyard where the Maliboomer used to be. They really should not leave that area in that condition for much longer, it's far greater of an eyesore that Maliboomer ever was. Also, hoping that Screamin and Wheel get the same facade as Toy Story, so that whole area flows together a bit better. Still think "sky school" is a terrible concept for a theme, for the a mouse coaster. Must have been some character from "The Little Mermaid" they could have used.

I fully expect the attractions based on HP to go to Japan and eventually Singapore. The financial upside for everyone involved is just too great to not exploit worldwide.

Per Screamscape rumor, USH is looking to bring Harry Potter to the park. Now that is a vision plan that actually is visionary. Between relocating / removing Psycho House and War of the Worlds set, they have enough space to pull off attraction and the village. Pulling in the lake set and the Mummy tunnel, gives them eve more opportunity to have an actual land at USH. Just hope that the Comcast, or whoever winds up owning the park chain, would be willing to invest the capital to pull off an equal or superior to Florida version of the Potter-verse.

Certainly wouldn't mind to buy one of the prop Terminators from the pre-show. And without being forced to watch it, the line should move much quicker. Great time for a naming contest for the park to run on Facebook for a replacement name.