pianojohn

When I played piano at CP 1986-90, they held all of the employee events in the ballroom like dances and bingo. I thought I heard that they don't or can't use it much in the summer since the building is an historic landmark and doesn't have air conditioning. And if they were to install it, the building would lose its landmark status. It is a great room. The Live Entertainment offices are at the far end of it (opposite the front windows) and we rehearsed all of the shows there.

To the best of my knowledge, none of the Forbidden Journey buildings are themed. I haven't been to Japan yet, but Orlando's building is a big white box visible from Jurassic Park. I always thought they would try to eventually theme it like Disney did with Expedition Everest. When it first opened, the whole back of the mountain was very plain. They eventually painted it and added detail which helped it blend in with the scenery. And if they are using the extended queue for FJ, everyone has to go that way before splitting into regular vs. single rider line. Question: do they also offer the castle tour? In Orlando, that is a 3rd option, and you enter the pre show area to the far right and observe a different room of talking portraits. It then joins up in Dumbledore's office but remains a separate line almost all the way to the sorting hat. At that point, a cast member then directs you down the exit stairs.

Thank goodness. How about a traditional Arrow flume? No lap bars. Just a good old fashioned flume ride. Or (if I can dream) a highly themed Log ride like Knotts!

Here is my dream list of flats to search out: Bayern Kurve Tumble Bug (though these are very, very rare) Double Ferris Wheel Traver Catepillar (even rarer since they came out in the 20's) Kangaroo and the piece de resistance: Schwabinchen!

I say good for Universal. They must have taken notice of the success of Star Wars weekend at Disney World and wanted to get in on the "weekend" action...which makes even more sense given their growing hotel room inventory. Then how about a passholder preview on the Thursday before? I am all for that. I am disappointed when they send out flyers and emails to passholders, yet we are unable to experience this stuff without buying the whole package. Oh well...I am sure they are not losing sleep or money over passholders like me!

You should be able to do both. The line is rarely more than 10 minutes, and you can re-ride without having to walk the entire queue.

Probably not a popular opinion, but I have to say it. I went yesterday to experience to Harry Potter weekend expo and such. I arrived a mere 30 minutes after the park opened, and yet there was already a 90 minute wait just to get into the Expo. Same for the demonstrations/talks at Hollywood Bowl and Toon Lagoon. The only realistic way (without spending hours in line) to experience these things would be with a package that includes a hotel stay. As someone who 1) lives in Orlando and 2) has already spent almost $400 on a Premier Pass, I do not have the money nor resources to spend 3 nights in a hotel just to get priority access to all of the events. I know they offered a season pass package, but you still had to buy the hotel stay. It's unfortunate since I really wanted to check out the expo, but Universal seems to value those who will spend the $$ verses their passholders. Just my two cents.

Found some pics from my 1st visit to IOA back in 1999 BEFORE its grand opening. Enjoy! Remember when they used to duel? Such bright colors! Don't see this anymore!

Thanks for all the great advice! Since I have a Cedar Point Platinum and Six Flags Gold Pass, I will probably stick to those two parks unless I can squeeze an extra day in there somewhere to hit SDC. I will let you know!

Advice needed for a novice to Missouri parks. I am thinking of taking a quick trip up there this summer to hit Six Flags St. Louis and Worlds of Fun. What do you recommend to hit both parks? I know it's about a 5 hour drive from one to the other. I was thinking of flying into Kansas City, hitting Worlds of Fun, and then driving to St. Louis for SFStL. Is this doable over about 4 days? I will be coming up from Orlando. And as much as I would like to hit Silver Dollar City, that's just too much driving and not enough riding. Thanks!

Some shots taken over the last few year. Xcelerator

Here's my idea: build a clone of Star Tours in the new area then retheme the original Star Tours to the Iron Man Experience or something else. It just would make sense to have all the Star Wars attractions in one area like DHS will have.

This is awesome news! I love stopping by this park after visiting Universal to get a few spins on White Lightning. And for us locals, the season pass cannot be beat! Keep up the GREAT work at the park!

I renew mine every year, and I opt for the Premier Pass with free valet parking. It's worth the extra $100 or so to skip the mobs of people now doing the security checkpoint. Plus it includes a free HHN ticket. Totally worth it!

They just announced the acts for Mardi Gras 2016. I think it's a pretty good assortment of different styles and should appeal to a broad audience.

Just watched Tomorrowland and Vacation. Didn't really care for either one. Tomorrowland was just boring, although the retro 1964 World's Fair footage was cool. Vacation pissed me off since they did stupid logistical stuff. If a family is driving from Chicago to Wally World (which I assume is in LA), why would they take route B instead of route A (See pictures below). Also, he said at the top of the film that it would take 2 days to get there. Yet they spent more than a few nights along the way. And finally, the BIG coaster they all want to ride is called Velociraptor. He even says it's over 400 feet tall and 100+ mph. Yet, the coaster turns out to be Ninja at SFOG, far from the tallest and fastest. I assume the average film goer will not care, but this pissed me off! They could have at least filmed TTD or Kingda Ka! The most direct route from Chicago to Wally World The route they actually took. Idiots!

Ah..the shame Carowinds 2014 Six Flags Great America Six Flags Great Adventure

Kings Island has the best Skyline.

No. Time to lock this thread.

Quick update: They changed the showtimes for Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special Shows times are 1130am, 1230, 130, 330, 430, and 530pm from Dec 20th through Jan 3rd with added shows on New Year's Eve. All shows are at the Premier Theater (right next to the Phineas and Pherb meet and greet and where the Frozen singalong first was presented last year) And if you wanna see ME in person, I will be playing the following days and shows: Saturday Dec 26th All 6 shows Sunday Dec 27th last 3 shows only (330, 430, and 530) Sunday Jan 3rd All 6 shows See you there!

Speaking of bad shows, how could I forget Stitch's Supersonic Celebration! They spent millions...literally MILLIONS of dollars to build a new stage in Tomorrowland with NO seating, NO shade, and a small stage, and then put the worst possible show on it. According to Wikipedia "Opening on May 6, 2009, the show received poor critical reception and closed the following month." I saw it and have a video of it. Just horrible from start to finish. It closed, the theater sat empty, and now they use it for DJs and special event shows. There are videos online of it as well as photos. The real tragedy is that they destroyed some prime real estate in Tomorrowland to build a very ugly theater. AND those who were responsible for this show still work for the company. You'd think they would have been terminated after wasting so much money on such a bad product.

Some new pics I took yesterday of King Kong construction and Hulk. Enjoy!

Batman at SFGAdv the opening year (1993).

White Lightning at Fun Spot! Just a blast from start to finish!

If you're coming to DHS during the INSANE holiday weeks, come see ME play piano for the Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special! Shows times are 1130am, 1230, 130, 330, 430, and 530pm from Dec 20th through Jan 3rd with added shows on New Year's Eve. And if you wanna see ME in person, I will be playing the following days and shows: Saturday Dec 26th All 6 shows Sunday Dec 27th last 3 shows only (330, 430, and 530) Sunday Jan 3rd All 6 shows See you there!