pianojohn

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!

This year's tree with some of my fav ornaments. Last year we realized our tree can have both white... ..and color lights! Cool! One of my WDW cast member ornaments My newest one This year's ornament

The control panel and room are about 1000% cooler than the actual ride.

Just got back from 5 days in California, 4 of them at DL/DCA. The new Star Wars stuff is pretty cool, and I would say 1 out of every 5 people in the park was wearing a Star Wars tshirt. Crowds were insane on Sunday. However, I still managed to see and do everything I wanted thanks to FastPass, the Disneyland app, and timing things out just right. Luckily I arrived about 7:45am and was able to do a lot of stuff in the 1st 2 hours with no wait (Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion 2X, Autopia, Monorail.) Sunday was also the 1st day they did 2 Christmas parades, 2 Paint the Night parades, 2 fireworks shows, and 2 Fantasmics. Whew! enjoy the pics! Sad to see this closing in January Left side: Spiderman at Disneyland. Right side: Spiderman at Islands of Adventure See ya Aladdin. Never got to ride in the front of Disneyland's monorail til today! My Fantasmic viewing spot was VERY close!

And the holiday decor!

Had to renew my USO/IOA season pass yesterday, so took some pics of Hulk, Kong, and holiday decor. Note: I was able to charge my 2014 Prius Plug In for FREE at Valet parking! Unlike WDW which charges minimum $1.50 plus any additional charge. To fill up my car, it only take $.40 worth of electricity. So thanks Universal and boo Disney! Launch! Not much left here They finally put the characters back on these columns Kong. I had a whole car to myself! See? Even the Gringotts line was short! Fast and Furious construction walls Bye bye Beetlejuice See ya Twister No more signage And some fall concerts before the ramp up to Christmas!

White Lightning at Fun Spot America in Orlando. Fun, fast, NEVER a line, and just an awesome coaster all around!

I will ALSO be at DL/DCA next Wed/Thurs before heading up to Burbank to be a part of a panel discussion at CTN Expo! See you at the park! http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/

I live and work in Orlando, so there is no off season for me! I do like seeing photos of snow covered tracks up north. Then I put on my shorts and head out to ride White Lightning at Fun Spot!

Disaster WAS cool...when the park first opened and it was cutting edge technology. And it was called Earthquake! The overlay was a big MEH to me. And I think the Tonight Show ride will be fun whatever it turns out to be. The fact that they are adding a LOT of new attractions just makes me so glad to live and work in Orlando!

Had to take a quick trip out to USF/IOA to document Twister before she leaves us. Also got some shots of Skull Island and what's left of the Hulk. And here is a video of Twister's finale room [youtu_be] [/youtu_be] Enjoy! Oh...and since it's almost Halloween, feel free to download my musical: Halloween: The Musical​ Just $4.99 download http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/johnbdehaas BOO! No more Twister merch. Just HHN stuff. Yum 1st time doing the Raptor meet and greet! Oct 28th means Christmas trees up! The queue line is stripped of decor on the outside

They are ok pics but pretty fuzzy. They look like they were taken with a video camera and then screen captured. I would suggest either using your phone's camera or getting a decent digital one.

We went on Sunday Sept 20th, and the crowds were light. 5 minute waits for Splash and Big Thunder Mtn. The only real wait was 7 Dwarves due to its low capacity and popularity. One suggestion: we skipped the 1st parade but got right up to the castle stage DURING it so as soon as it ended, we were in prime location for the Hocus Pocus show. Definitely worth standing close to see how amazing the three women are who portray the witches. And about 5 minutes after the show finishes, they started Celebrate the Magic castle lighting. About 10 minutes later Hallowishes. Then you still have about another hour before catching the 2nd parade. Have fun!

An absolutely wonderful way to end WCB2015! While it was nice to get the SFMM credits, Knott's Berry Farm seemed genuinely happy to have our group there! They bent over backwards with the 4 hours of ERT, GREAT food, lots of backstage tours, presentation, and just great hospitality. It was truly an honor to be a guest at their park. Just one suggestion: can they replace the windows in Sky Cabin? I know they are plexiglass and able to be changed out. That was my only criticism. When we took a twilight ride up the tower, most of my pictures seemed hazy due to the scratched and worse for the wear condition of the windows. A huge thanks again to Robb and Elissa who worked tirelessly to make sure the weekend went off without a hitch.

SF Magic Mountain. A little history: my 1st visit was in 1980. I had never been to the park let alone California. I was beyond excited to finally ride the coasters I had read about and seen in the movie Rollercoaster. I only took a few pictures that day, but I still remember riding Colossus, Revolution, the two log rides, and a ton of other rides. It was a truly memorable experience. Fast forward to 2000. My 2nd visit to the park. A nice sunny day in September with very light crowds. I got to finally ride Viper, Superman, Ninja, Batman, etc. Not a bad day and I even ran into some friends from Ohio! April 2013. I was in LA for a few days and planned a separate road trip to SFMM. It was a week or two after Easter, so the crowds were non existent. After arriving at the park, I waited in a line to get in early with my Gold Pass. I think they let us in 15 minutes before everyone else. I ran to X2. Closed. Then Tatsu. Closed. "Wind," they said. Yet it was hardly windy at all. Finally got my rides on Apocalypse, Green Lantern, and Scream. Colossus: closed. Drop Tower: closed. Literally everywhere I looked everything was closed from rides to food stands to souvenir shops. I then realized that the park just didn't want to staff the rides on such a low attendance day. When Tatsu FINALLY opened a few hours later, they were running one train, and the line was over an hour long. Never did ride it or X2 which never opened. Left the park disgusted with their lack of care for guests. I decided to write a few tweets about my experience, hoping I would at least get a courtesy response from SFMM. Instead, they blocked my from following them on Twitter. REALLY? What park blocks a guest who has legitimate concerns about their operations? I vowed never to return. And, of course, I will be there this coming Saturday for West Coast Bash. Hoping for the best but prepared for the worst.

FINALLY they do something right! Not sure if this was posted already, but they are having an awesome sale on Season Passes. So awesome that I bought a SFMM one even though I live in Orlando! I'll be able to process it at WCB and then it will be good for the rest of 2015 and all 2016 at all Six Flags parks. A real steal at just $80 with tax. Anyone else crazy like me? I probably won't even use it at SFMM in 2016 unless work takes me out there. But having it will give me incentive to FINALLY visit SF St. Louis. Ciao!

Before I was into coasters, I was....well...scared of them! So I missed the following rides before I got brave: Jumbo Jet at Cedar Point. They took it out in 1979 just when I started riding all the coasters. Big Dipper at Chippewa Lake. Went to this park in the early 70's but only rode their Wild Mouse. Scenic Railway at Luna Park, Melbourne Australia. Was there in 2000 but the park was only open weekend. UGH! Toboggan at Little Amerricka. Literally got in the car, but when they closed the top, I freaked out from the claustrophobia. Never did ride it! Space Mountain at Tokyo Disneyland. Closed when I visited in 2003.

Thanks for all the info. I figured that there is no way to catch everything. Guess I am used to the way WDW runs their parades right up to fireworks time. Another quick question: the last time I saw Fantasmic in 1995, the show ended and a parade began. The crowds were awful, and I literally had to step out of the street to avoid being crushed by guests pushing. Have they got a better handle of dealing with show dumps? That is my only fear is getting caught in a mob of people. Thanks

Not sure if I posted these yet, but these are construction shots taken of Drachen Fire at Busch Gardens in the fall of 1991. enjoy!!

Opening this week is the Florida premiere of Heathers the Musical. Based on the 1989 Christian Slater/Winona Ryder film, this campy and VERY adult musical features your favorite characters and lines from the film! I am music directing and conducting the 7 piece pit. Hope to see you there if you're in Orlando!!

Question for Disneyland veterans. I am heading out there for some pre West Coast Bash fun on Sept 10th and 11th. I have all of my rides and shows and food mapped out pretty well since I've been there twice in the last 2 years. Here's my question(s): On Friday, I am hoping to see the following shows at the most optimal times: Paint the Night at 8:50pm Fantasmic! at 9:00pm Disneyland Forever at 9:30pm Paint the Night at 10:45pm Fantasmic! at 10:45pm Is it at ALL possible to see the 8:50pm Paint the Night and catch Fantasmic at 9? Or is that pretty much impossible? I read that the parade route goes from Small World down Main Street which I imagine is nowhere near Fantasmic. What would be my best option to see the parade, Fantasmic, AND the fireworks at 9:30? Would I just have to catch the parade and fireworks, then stick around for the 1045 Fantasmic? Thanks for any input!

I would suggest Maverick and Millenium. Gatekeeper is also on ERT but the capacity on it is such that you shouldn't have that long of a wait during the day. 2. Will I need to ride Dragster during either day despite Thursday's night ERT? How long can I expect the lines to be during this ride time? TTD is hit or miss as far as lines go. I would see what the waits are like during the day and if 30 minutes or less, go for it. 3. Any food, parking, or other logistics tips? Since you are getting there early, you should be able to park fairly close. I USED to recommend the Midway Market, but the last time I went in June, the food was VERY sub par. Since you have the Platinum Pass, you get the french fry deal which is a chili cheese fry at regular price, and then a 2nd french fry and 2 soft drinks for free. If you're by yourself, this is way too much food, but it is a great deal. 4. When to ride GateKeeper? I know that this is like Kings Dominion's Dominator (or any Cedar Fair park's "entrance B&M") and has an enormous line early in the day. Gatekeeper is a crowd eater. I would suggest the afternoon or early evening. 5. Any other ride tips? I know that some of you have proven strategies to maximize ride counts even on crowded days like Thursday and Friday, and even if you can spare a tip or two I will be immensely thankful. Just get used to walking. You may end up traveling from front to back of the park several times depending on crowds.

Just some Disneyland/DCA info. On Thursday Sept 10th, Disneyland is only open 9-5. I imagine this is for a press event that night since their Halloween stuff starts the next day. I am planning on doing the park all day then hopping over to DCA to do some more rides and World of Color. On Friday Sept 11th, Haunted Mansion Holiday AND Space Mountain (Ghost Galaxy?) will both be open! California Screamin' looks to still be closed. Then off to WCB!