bigboy

They poured a very temporary looking slab and put a haunted house in a tent on the old Chevy show spot for Fright Fest this year. I wouldn't count on anything major happening there soon. They have their hands full filling in dead areas (there, Flume 1, Gold River) and rumor has it that the area encompassing that spot and Gold River will have to be raised out of the flood plain before anything can happen. Take that with a grain of salt since pretty much the whole dang park is in a flood plain.

Holy crap, that looks cool! I didn't want to watch a POV, but it's going to be April of 2021 before I get there anyway. I like the 2 different experiences. The effect of the light saber cutting through the roof in that one scene is incredible.

^This^ x 100. I've attended the show for work a dozen or so times over the last 20 years, and while I won't pretend to have any significant insight, I feel pretty comfortable saying that the overwhelming majority of the 25-30k buyers that attend are there for networking and practical ideas and education sessions that will make their everyday job easier. The audience that the new hotness is aimed at is pretty narrow. For the most part, the show floor hasn't changed all that much since I first attended in 2000. It was very heavy on VR and access and revenue software and equipment this year. A little light on practical equipment and supplies for the average operator. Inflatables seem to be on a downward trend and the haunted house equipment that came in awhile back was almost non-existent this year. The outside midway area was pretty thin this year and they're now up to 2 tents of exhibitors in the parking lot. It's hard to believe that they've finally outgrown the North/South building after moving the show there in 2003 when things were starting to look a little lean in the struggling economy. The building is about to expand in the coming years and I heard that there's a possibility of part of the show moving back over to the West building.

Isn't the guy that runs Texas Thrill Seekers the same guy that posted the ridiculous Herschend buying SFOT rumor to drive his social media traffic? Anyone that really knows what's going to happen with Gold River isn't talking and anyone that's speculating that wildly about what's happening with Gold River doesn't really know.

They require 2 riders in the last loaded seat of any train so that, in theory, there are 2 people that can see anything that happens to that train during the ride. It's come and go over the years and most recently resurfaced when the rider was ejected from NTAG. When I worked there in the mid-90s, it was explained as a insurance requirement and went so far as to say that all loaded ride units or flat rides had to have at least 2 riders. I don't know that it makes a whole lot of sense, but there is a reason behind it.

A 15 year lease is incredibly optimistic since I have serious doubts that the old stadium will still be standing in 15 years. The Rangers and the city have the option to tear it down and I can't see the value of the office space and the small team tenants being worth the upkeep and maintenance of such a large facility. At some point, it's going to make huge financial sense to redevelop the land or use for parking.

Be prepared for heavy traffic. Traffic going in stays pretty heavy through the late afternoon and it will be compounded tomorrow by a Sunday night Cowboy game next door. That could work in your favor since Cowboy game time is known for being a good chance to enjoy alternate activities with a smaller crowd. Grocery stores, movies, etc. However, I wouldn't count on that making a huge difference with the gorgeous warm weather and closing in on the peak of Fright Fest. If it weren't your first trip to the park, I would tell you to go enjoy the closing hours of the State Fair's season, but hey, go to the park, enjoy the weather, and make the best of it.

Even if they aren't walk-on, those are still really reasonable wait times compared to what you'll see during the day. I get that the crowds cut into the expected exclusivity of an after hours upcharge event, but I think this goes right along with the idea that there's no longer such a thing as a "slow" time at WDW, especially at Magic Kingdom. I would also point out that the wait time for Haunted Mansion is one that is consistently over stated. I've jumped in the line with a 30 minute or more advertised wait more than once and been in the pre show in less than 10. That thing is a line eater.

Thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize Riviera wasn't open yet. I've stayed at Caribbean Beach twice and, like the other moderates, it is nice, but very spread out. Getting to the common buildings and the bus stops can be a bit of a chore, especially in the heat and humidity. I've stayed at Pop Century twice in the meantime and I think I would choose there or Art of Animation going forward. The more compact layout (made smaller by spending a little extra on a preferred room) and the centralized bus pickup just makes for an easier stay. I can handle walking a little more if needed, but I don't feel guilty since we're walking like crazy in the parks. The room quality at Caribbean was no better than Pop Century.

I know I could probably read up more on my own, but I'm curious to hear about how boarding and riding works from people that have used the Skyliner. Is there a lot of transferring from one gondola to another involved or do you pretty much board one and stay on? For example, if I board at Hourglass Lake, do you then transfer over to one of the park lines at Caribbean? If you board at Caribbean on the Epcot line, do you just stay on board through the Riviera station or transfer again? I'm sure it's simpler than I think. I can't wait to try it out. My wife, ever the huge People Mover and monorail fan, wants to take a trip to WDW just for the Skyliner.

I'm not one to get bent out of shape about theming and whether or not something fits, but I loathe Primeval Whirl. The area as a whole doesn't bother me, but that particular ride just looks terrible. We skipped it on all 3 of our trips in the last 5 years.

There's a little break in the heat coming next weekend, but it's still going to be steamy around 90 with insane humidity. I would expect it to be pretty crowded with Fright Fest being in full swing. Two days should be enough to get most everything in. I saw pics on Facebook of a Mr. Freeze train valleyed yesterday, so I would guess there's a chance it could still be down.

Yes, they do.

I would assume it will be slightly cooler in 3 weeks. While it's not as hot now as it was that weekend, we're still topping out in the mid to upper 90s.

As rough as it is, my kid, and pretty much most kids at the park judging by the line, loves it. I cringed when she begged me to ride it on our Labor Day weekend visit. It was around 100 degrees and humid, I was sweating profusely, and the whole place smelled like hot ass. The last thing I wanted to do was stand in line for 40 minutes and get beat to death on that ride.

SFOT usually puts out their schedule after the season ends around New Years, but I would expect it to be out sooner than that since they're not shutting down for an off season. Spring Break next year is spread out over 2 weeks - Fort Worth and Arlington are out the second week in March and Dallas is out the third week. I would second checking out the Riverwalk in San Antonio, but don't be roped into eating at any of the restaurants there. The atmosphere makes it tempting, but all you get is chains and terrible food. Mi Tierra in the market area is touristy, but is way better than anything you can eat on the Riverwalk. It's been a long time since I've been in the area, but I've had a lot of friends recommend the restaurants in La Villita.

The renderings don't show a turntable. It's possible they left it out, but that would be a little odd since the renderings are pretty detailed.

It's going to be very popular because it's a water ride in a hot climate and it's in a highly visible location in the park, but outside of pulling in enthusiasts that are hyper aware of this sort of thing, it won't draw in a ton of people that wouldn't already be visiting the park.

Since there's clearly nothing else to draw you into Epcot, I'm sure Disney will be scrambling to find a way to recover this lost target demographic.

Yeah, that's not exactly what I would call a credible source. The guys that run that page are the same ones that were saying that a Power Splash wasn't happening because it wouldn't fit in that spot. Year round operation is going to be interesting. Weather in January and February varies wildly from year to year or even day to day. The best example I can come up with was the year the Super Bowl was in Arlington. Temperatures below freezing for 7 days with multiple snow and ice events leading up to the game and temperatures in the 70s and 80s later in the month.

Don't think it will be too surprising. An park employee in a Facebook group I follow is hinting around that some sort of announcement about Gold River will happen. Same employee also insists that there's no Mack Power Splash coming because "it won't fit".

I ordered the Lego train set on Wednesday and it was on my porch after work last night. 4 hours of work down, 12 of 18 bags left. The locomotive, tender, and one coach are done. I didn't see it in any of your pics, but the 3-level Haunted Mansion costume with a working Omnimover track is off the chain. And, yeah, that Jeff Goldblum show looks brilliant.

If I lived within an hour's drive, that would be a "Take my damn money!" deal.

Holiday in the Park - water rides and The Tower are closed and it seems like they had just about everything else open last year. There's always a chance they'll keep something closed that's in dire need of a head start on rehab before the off season. I took my daughter out for a quick visit today and had a good time. Waited 20 minutes to get through the parking plaza and I thought I might have made a mistake by going on a bring-a-friend day. The park was a little busier than the last Monday we visited, but it still wasn't bad. We hit up a few flat rides and Justice League (still in as good a shape as it was when I last rode the year it opened), had lunch, met up with friends and split up the kids so that a few of us could get a lap on Titan - a 4-5 train wait turned into more than 30 minutes because they took off a train, ran one loaded lap, and then added another train, and waited about 10 minutes for the front row on Mine Train. We were a little disappointed that Sky Screamer was closed during our entire visit since that's one of my daughter's favorites and the wind was almost non-existent. We tried out the exclusive Pink Thing ice cream and I loved it even it was a little more tart than the original treat. Overall a good visit even if it was crazy ass hot.

That's Pac Man and Mrs. Pac Man in the one banner, not Krofft puppets. I have no idea what the last one is. I might have guessed something Krofft or Banana Splits related, but a Google search comes up with nothing like that. Maybe it's a Pac Man ghost? There are shipping documents connecting Mack with SFOT floating around Facebook this morning.