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Everything posted by ILoveRides
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I was back at the park on Wednesday and they have made even more improvements to the log ride in the short time since our trip report. Pretty much all of the animatronics are now working, and they added some effects and story to the final lift hill (no more endless "fire in the hole!"). So the ride is even better than what the POV shows!
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Knott's just completed their new Boardwalk expansion and Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation, and TPR was there with David and Spears to see the new additions. Check out our full report below... Also, be sure to watch our full POV of the new Timber Mountain Log Ride: TPR is at Knott's Berry Farm to check out the new Boardwalk expansion and the renovated Timber Mountain Log Ride! We were greeted by a band playing in front of the Boardwalk Pier. They were rocking out! The new Boardwalk area contains three new rides - 2 flat rides and 1 family roller coaster. This is one of the flat rides, Pacific Scrambler. Here's the second flat ride, Surfside Gliders. And here's the new family mouse coaster, Coast Rider. Knott's had all sorts of roaming characters entertaining the guests for opening day. There was a hilarious "family from Ohio" entertaining crowds. The family cracked us up. They acted like a bunch of clueless tourists. It wouldn't be a Knott's event without Snoopy! Here Snoopy is posing with the master of ceremonies for the event, pop culture guru Charles Phoenix. Check out that boysenberry suit! How cool! The boardwalk rides were open for passholder ERT all morning, and we spotted several TPR members riding. Hi Allison! We took a spin on Surfside Gliders too before the big grand opening ceremony. More on the rides later though. First, lets check out the opening ceremony. A large crowd gathered around the Boardwalk Pier to watch the festivities. Charles Phoenix came on stage and greeted the guests. Knott's General Manager Raffi Kaprelyan introduced the new Boardwalk area and rides. A giant piece of taffy was brought out to the characters and special guests. The taffy was cut, officially marking the opening of the Knott's Boardwalk! All the characters and special guests posed in front of the Boardwalk Pier. Over at Coasters Drive-In there was a special breakfast set up. And look who showed up! Gertrude the Goose! Gertrude loves food! They had a "cool" ice sculpture in the shape of the Knott's "K." Mmmmmmm! Gertrude ate like 10 of these burritos. Gertrude couldn't stop eating. The food was just too good. She ate enough food for 15 geese! Back at the boardwalk, the sun had come out and the rides were looking great. Lets check out all the rides! First up, Pacific Scrambler. This Scrambler has run in various locations around Knott's in the past, but it's fresh out of storage, freshly painted, and looks great on the boardwalk. Spears gives it a thumbs up! Spears doesn't usually do so good with spinning rides, but she enjoyed this one. Pacific Scrambler can make your hair go horizontal. If you've ever wanted horizontal hair, ride Pacific Scrambler! It can also scare you! It can also squish you! Ride with 3 people in a seat for extra squishiness. Surfside Gliders is a Larson Flying Scooters ride. If you've never been on one, you need to go ride this! You sit in a glider hanging on wires, and control a rudder that you can move left or right. When the ride starts spinning, your rudder can make you twist and turn and rise and fall! It's simultaneously fun and scary. When your glider gets vertical like this it feels like it'll break or you'll fall out. If you ask me, it's one of the scariest feelings you can experience on a ride. But mostly the ride is pure fun. It was also nice to see Knott's honoring some of their extinct attractions on the maintenance buildings behind the ride. Coast Rider is a new Mack Wild Mouse coaster. It looks great! Up the lift. In my opinion, this model of mouse coaster is one of the best out there. It's very smooth. Families will love this ride. It's thrilling enough for adults, but tame enough for younger ones. Weee! Twisty! Ahhh! Here's the station for the ride. Some extra cars sitting off the station. Go ride this! It's fun! Here's an overview shot of the new boardwalk taken from the Sky Cabin. A little closer. All three rides are running! You can't take a trip in the Sky Cabin without snapping an Xcelerator picture too. Hi Xcelerator! And here's the log ride. We'll be getting to that soon! The boardwalk also has lots of nice little details that are worth pointing out. Lights are strung overhead across the entire area. These, combined with the Windseeker-esque lighting packages on the flat rides, should make this area come to life at night! There are nice seating areas filled with flowers and trees. Even the railings have pretty details. There is new boardwalk merchandise available too. Overall, the boardwalk is a huge improvement to this area of the park. It's now more lively and family-friendly. Throughout the day I heard lots of excited comments from the general public such as, "Wow, cool!" "Look at that!" "Lets ride this!" "Check out the new area!" People seemed really excited about it! Gertrude clearly ate too much at breakfast. She looked enormous and could barely walk! This is Danette! She's a TPR fan who introduced herself to us as we were walking to the log ride. Everyone say, "Hi Danette!" We love meeting other amusement park enthusiasts! The log ride is looking better than ever. And it should be! It just had the biggest refurbishment in its history. There are fresh, hand-fluffed trees all around the mountain. Out front Knott's was promoting their new show, Boomtown, coming this summer. Charles Phoenix welcomed everyone to the re-opening of the Timber Mountain Log Ride. Raffi honored Bud Hurlbut, the creator of the log ride, as an industry pioneer. He also said the spirit of Walter Knott believing in Bud still holds true today at Knott's - individuals still have the opportunity to shine and see their vision come to life. Beth Swift, the mayor of Buena Park, honored Bud Hurlbut with a proclamation from the City Counsel. A representative from State Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva's office came on stage to honor Knott's Berry Farm for their investment in quality entertainment for families, and the work they do in the veteran and education communities. John Wayne and his son Ethan Wayne were the guests of honor at the original log ride opening 44 years ago. Honoring that history, Knott's invited Ethan Wayne back to be the guest of honor at the re-opening of the log ride. Ethan brought his nephew, Duke Wayne, with him as well - who knows, maybe in another 50 years or so Duke will be re-dedicating the ride once again! A picture was brought out showing Walter Knott, John Wayne, and a young Ethan Wayne at the original opening of the log ride. Ethan said that he remembered the original opening day clearly, and it was one of his clearest early memories of doing something fun with his father. He was 7 years old at the original opening, and is 51 now, but said he can still feel the excitement that he felt as a little boy wanting to experience the log ride for the first time. The log ride wasn't quite ready for guests yet, but it was all good. Peace. Love. Happy thoughts. (We WILL ride it later in this report, so keep reading!) The Wilderness Dance Hall had an impressive display honoring the history of the log ride. There were all sorts of drawings and photos on display, showing off the planning, construction, and opening of the original log ride. Here is a photo from the opening day in 1969. If you look closely at the photo, there is a boy who hopped up to get a look at how the log ride lift works. That boy is actually Tony Baxter, the famous Disney Imagineer who worked on rides such as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. There were two original models from the log ride on display, one from 1967 and one from 1968. Several changes to this 1967 model were made for the actual ride. Can you notice any? For one, the train didn't end up going through a tunnel in the mountain. Here is the 1968 model with the train where it actually ended up, just outside the mountain. Wee! Knott's also had an original figure from the ride on display. The figure was auctioned on Ebay, and the money it raised was donated to Ethan Wayne's charity. He doesn't look very happy about being removed from the ride. He also looks strikingly like Mr. Bean. Here's Spears with Ethan Wayne. He was really nice! As we left we were given certificates for 100 shares of the Calico Logging Company! 100 shares! We're gonna be rich! Back at the boardwalk the band was still rocking away. People were really flipping out over the music. Literally. Back at Coasters Drive-In, Knott's provided a lunch with salad, burgers, fried chicken, onion rings, malts, and tons of other delicious goodies. Oddly enough, Gertrude was nowhere to be seen. I guess she had her fill at breakfast, but I wonder where she went? Oh no! It looks like Gertrude ate so much and grew so fat that she got lodged in the flume of the log ride. So THAT'S why it didn't end up opening earlier! Hopeful that the log ride would open, a line of guests started forming at the attraction. Knott's tried really, really hard to get the attraction open, but unfortunately it wasn't possible. Even after turning the water on and sending some logs through, there was just no way to dislodge Gertrude from the attraction. Fast forward to the next morning - Gertrude had dropped some logs of her own in the attraction, making her skinny enough to float down the flume to the exit, and allowing Knott's to get the attraction open! Fast forward two more days and we were back at the farm to experience it! Good things are totally worth waiting for! Before we get back to the log ride though, lets make a quick stop at the Ghost Town Grill. These placemats are brand new, and are really neat! They were designed by Eric Lynxwiler, author of "Knott's Preserved." TPR members may remember him from his talk at West Coast Bash a couple years ago. For those who don't know, Eric is one of the most knowledgable people on the history of Knott's Berry Farm. If you ever get the chance, be sure to talk to him, as he is like a walking encyclopedia of Knott's information (and also a genuinely nice guy). Anyhow, I was happy to hear that Knott's hired him recently, and designing these placemats is one of the first projects he has worked on. What's neat is that because he is so passionate about Knott's, he put in references to past attractions, the Catawampus, etc. It's a placemat that normal guests will enjoy, and true Knott's fans will love. And it's a great example of paying attention to history and detail, while still creating new experiences, that Knott's has been doing lately. Be sure to stop at the restaurant, have a bite to eat, and check out these placemats on your next visit! On the subject of little details, the landscaping is also looking great at Knott's. Throughout the park there were beautiful flowers blooming. But back to what we're all here for, The Timber Mountain Log Ride! The ride was open, and logs were happily splashing through the flume. Are you ready to ride? Lets go! Garner Holt did an amazing job with this renovation. Everything feels completely new and completely old - and I mean that in the best way possible. They maintained the look and feel of the original ride, but the new motion of the characters, new lighting, and new sound bring the attraction into the 21st century. It's the same old log ride that everyone loves - just better! They worked hard to maintain the art style of the original ride, which means the people in it are all still quirky and odd looking. They even took molds of the original character's faces to replicate the original looks. Every review of the ride that I've heard or read is positive, and I concur. If you saw our hard hat tour update, then you've seen this guy before. He was in the Wilderness Dance Hall in our last Knott's update. Now he's in the ride where he belongs. Chugga chugga, choo choo! Oh no, prepare to get wet! This guy should've used his crane to get Gertrude out of the flume the other day! Beware of hitchhiking ghosts! Also note, there is new show lighting throughout the ride. Since the ride moves fast I had to use flash in my photos, which washes out the show lighting. But in this photo provided by Knott's you can better see how the lighting actually looks. These fake animals look better than the old taxidermy ones, go figure! And they move too! There's a nice tribute to Bud Hurlbut on the crate in this scene. Don't let the bear catch you by surprise! I learned something from Jurassic Park: If you don't move, they can't see you. Wait a minute... we're in a log, and we're moving! Ahhhh! This scene is so neat! He runs on the spinning log. More fun. He drank some X, X, X, and was out, out, out. Getting ready to go up the final lift hill. I almost wish the ride moved slower so that you could have more time to take in all the details. I guess that's what re-rides are for. Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! Fire in the hole! (If you don't know why I keep saying, "Fire in the hole!" then watch our Youtube POV of the ride! "Fire in the hole!" is the new "Take the tunnel!") The final drop! Just as good as ever. What a great update for this ride. It's rare that a park does something that honors history while at the same time completely modernizes it, but that's what they've successfully done here - which is probably why the general public and the fan community all seem to be giving great reviews of this renovation. Whether it's your first ride, or your 100th, you will almost certainly love what they've done to this ride. And the best news of all? Everything is now open! Go explore the new Boardwalk and Renovated Log Ride for yourself at Knott's, you'll be glad you did! Thanks to Knott's for inviting us to this great event, and thanks to you for checking out our report!
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To their credit, the park tried really hard to get the Log Ride open on the media day, but it just didn't work out. It did open today though, and everyone I've talked to who has been inside says it's really great. I'll be back at the park this weekend to get coverage of it, so expect a full report on all the new additions (Boardwalk and Log Ride) in the coming days!
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Here is part 2, coverage from the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter: A few hours and several "snooze" button presses later we were up and ready to head back to the parks. It was a very special day as both Disneyland and DCA would be open for 24 hours, from 6am on 5/24 until 6am on 5/25. We passed this sign on the way out of the hotel. Downtown Disney was completely empty this early. There was a media area set up in the middle of the courtyard between Disneyland and DCA. Donald Duck says, "Good morning!" While there were some crowds, it actually wasn't as bad as I was expecting. The turnstile lines for Disneyland stretched a little less than half way across the courtyard. Getting up early did have its benefits as we were able to score the free monster glasses! Noted! There were lots of cameras and camera equipment all around. In the media area there was a display showing off the special merchandise and food for the event. There was lots to choose from! Here's a final look at the Disneyland crowd right before opening at 6am. And a final look at the DCA crowd right before opening. The whole crowd counted down the final 10 seconds, and a small firework was launched each second. Then at 6am a quick burst of fireworks over each park signaled the beginning of the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter! As the guests entered they were interviewed by various media outlets. A band greeted guests as they came in. If you're from Southern California you may recognize this guy! Local news weatherman Josh Rubenstein was giving the weather and conducting interviews from the park all morning. A picture of Josh Rubenstein with Donald Duck. All along Main Street characters and cast members lined up to greet guests and give high fives. (To be 100% accurate they actually gave high fours, because they were all wearing four fingered Mickey gloves.) Spears was super excited to give high fours to EVERY cast member and character! No really, she high-foured everyone! She was so excited that she gave a little high four dance. Like I said, everyone. After Spears greeted every single cast member in the entire park with a high four, we headed to the media center for breakfast. The media center was located in The Golden Horseshoe. Disney had a nice breakfast spread set up for members of the media. There were lots of food and drinks. And muffins and croissants. Each table had a center piece with beautiful real flowers. After breakfast crowds were still pretty light. (Mind you, it was still quite early.) We headed to Space Mountain which was still only a 10 minute wait. It was a nice, leisurely morning before things picked up. It's 7:29am and we're going to space! Welcome to space! If there's a monster in space is it called a monster or an alien? Star Tours was a walk on. So we took a spin! This light up monster necklace was part of the event merchandise. 24 hours. It's "EYE" mazing! Since we were honorary monsters for the day, we decided to do some scaring. Here we are scaring it up in front of the castle. Scaring it up in front of the Partners statue. Scaring it up in front of the Monstrous Summer All-Nighter sign. Spears got a picture with Princess Tiana. Spears collects princess photo credits like TPR members collect coaster credits. Over to DCA we decided to have lunch at Carthay Circle Theater. Carthay is such a great restaurant! If you want to go, make sure you make reservations in advance as it can book up. The room where we ate. Spears got a rose petal soda. It had a real sugar-encrusted rose petal that was delicious. I got the Pimm's Punch, which has to be one of the best drinks there is! The vegan pasta in olive oil at Carthay is amazing. It's simple, but everything is seasonal and perfectly prepared. Next up we headed to Cars Land. Ready to race! Weee!!! Scaring it up on Racers! Spears is so monstrous! This cactus was blooming beautifully. We aren't always scary monsters. We can be happy monsters too! But mostly we're scary. Next up, California Screamin'. Of course we scared it up on Screamin' too! In the afternoon the crowds started to pick up, and we were pretty tired from all the media coverage and lack of sleep, so we decided to throw in the towel and call it a day. We picked up our luggage from The Grand Californian and headed out. While we didn't stay the full 24 hours, the event was still a fun and monstrous start to the summer! Thanks again to Disney for throwing such an amazing two day event and for inviting TPR to attend. The Monstrous Summer All-Nighter kicked off what is sure to be a great summer at the Disneyland resort. With all the recent additions to DCA such as Cars Land and Buena Vista Street, and the new live entertainment offerings at Disneyland - Fantasy Faire and Mickey and the Magical Map, it's a great time to visit the resort! Thanks for checking out our report!
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Disneyland just threw a massive two-day media event to celebrate the debut of their new live action musical show, "Mickey and the Magical Map," the opening of their new princess meet-and-greet area, "Fantasy Faire," and the kicking off of their 24 hour "Monstrous Summer All-Nighter" party. TPR was there with Brittney (AKA Spears) and David. Check out the full coverage below! Part 1: Fantasy Faire and the "Mickey and the Magical Map" world premiere and party! Part 2: Monstrous Summer All-Nighter kickoff! Also, check out this video of the full Mickey and the Magical Map debut show thanks to Orlando Attractions Magazine: TPR is at The Disneyland Resort for an epic two-day media event with tons of fun surprises! Our first stop: The Grand Californian Hotel! We checked in for what would end up being two great days at the resort. This is part 1 of 2. In this update we'll cover the first day - Fantasy Faire and the "Mickey and the Magical Map" world premiere and party! In true Disney fashion, they pulled out all the stops for the event. This spread of food and drinks was awaiting us at the check-in area. They even had custom printed cookies. And Fantasy Faire napkins. Once we got our media passes we headed to our room at The Grand Californian. For those who have never stayed there, The Grand Californian is the Disneyland Resort's premiere on-property hotel, and it has direct access to DCA. The room was very nice and had everything one would expect from a Disney hotel. The view from the room was pretty unique too! Spears and I both laughed when we opened the blinds to discover man-made clouds and sky outside. That mural is actually the back side of Goofy's Sky School roller coaster in DCA. And here's a better shot of the view taken from the balcony. Pretty neat! From the room it was possible to get some pics of Goofy's Sky School that you can't normally get in the park. One more Goofy's Sky School shot. And here's The Golden Zephyr with the Cars Land mountain range in the background. Spears says, "The Grand Californian is awesome!" This was our first time staying there, and it totally lived up to our expectations. A few more shots of The Grand Californian for those who have never been, and then we'll head over to Disneyland! This is the lobby of the hotel. It's huge, homey, and awe inspiring - all at the same time! And there's always a different giant flower arrangement that anchors the room. But enough with the hotel, lets head to Disneyland to check out all the great new stuff they have to offer this year! Fantasyland was already closed when we arrived because they were setting up for the Magical Map premiere party. There were signs all around to announce the media event and Fantasyland closure. Mickey and the Magical Map is in the Fantasyland Theatre across from It's a Small World. Here's the entrance walkway to the theatre. The newly refurbished theatre looks great! It had improvements from top to bottom - from the seats to the structure of the theatre to the technology in the show. There are dripping paint buckets surrounding the stage. And lots of new decorations for the show. The president of the Disneyland Resort, Michael Colglazier, came on stage to welcome everyone to the world premiere of Mickey and the Magical Map. He also invited Mickey to come on stage and say hi. But Mickey was quickly whisked off because he needed to get ready for the show backstage. After a quick review of all the recent additions to Disneyland and DCA, Mr. Colglazier said he hoped everyone would enjoy the show and stepped off stage. The curtain rose, revealing a 3-tier LED screen stage, and the show began! Yen Sid appeared on screen to introduce the magical map, which has the power to transport dreams to any place imaginable. Mickey then came on stage, paint buckets in hand, ready to join the other map makers in painting the map. Yen Sid explains to Mickey that he is an apprentice. Someday, when he learns the secret of the map, he may join the other map makers - but not yet. As everyone leaves, Mickey notices an unfinished spot of the map that they missed. He says aloud, "Maybe if I paint this spot Master Yen Sid will have me become a map maker!" Mickey grabs a brush and turns to paint the unfinished spot. As Mickey tries to paint the spot, it moves away as if it doesn't want to be painted. Mickey tries again and again to paint the spot, but it keeps avoiding him and eventually unleashes the magic of the map! The stage opens in the center and King Louie from The Jungle Book comes out and starts singing. There's live music to go along with the recorded track. And tons of action as Louie and the other characters dance around stage. The vibrant LED screen does a great job of transporting you to the various worlds in the show. Even in the sunlight of the open air Fantasyland Theatre, the colors are vibrant and everything is easy to see. The dance scenes are all wonderfully choreographed, and are full of energy and movement. The characters in the show all use Disney's latest character technology so their mouths talk and their eyes blink. They're amazingly life-like! In between each of the musical scenes Mickey returns to interact with the spot. This was one of my favorite effects in the show. Mickey dips his hands in a paint bucket and they actually turn blue! As Mickey continues to try to paint the spot, the spot moves under Mickey and pulls him into the map! The live action mickey turns into a digital Mickey that interacts with the spot on the screen as they journey through the magical map. The magical map transports viewers to many different places with various familiar Disney characters and songs. Here's Pocahontas singing, "Just Around the River Bend." Mulan comes on stage and sings, "Reflection." Rapunzel and Flynn Rider perform a segment from "Tangled." In this shot you can really see how the tiered LED screen helps to enhance the show by transporting viewers to various scenes. The theatre also has lighting effects built in around the stage that further enhance the show. Mickey then follows the unpainted spot "Under The Sea" with Sebastian from "The Little Mermaid." Two dancers climb into huge bubbles during the routine. I love this Sebastian character! It made me smile seeing him dancing around stage singing. Mickey finally catches the spot under a barrel and says, "I'm gonna paint you, like it or not! I've just got to be a map maker!" When Mickey hears the spot squealing under the barrel he suddenly has second thoughts. He realizes that maybe the spot just never wanted to be painted, and lets him go. Mickey tells the spot that the spot is a masterpiece just the way he is. They become friends and agree to go on an adventure together. They hit the waves to the song "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride" from Lilo and Stitch. Back flip! The surfboard props in this scene were neat. Yen Sid then re-appears and pushes Mickey from the map into the real world. Yen Sid tells Mickey that by leaving the spot unfinished he discovered the secret of the map - "The map contains neverending magic for it will never be complete. Not as long as there is imagination left in the world." This was a nice tribue to a famous Walt Disney quote about Disneyland: "Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world." Yen Sid tells Mickey that he is no longer an apprentice now that he has learned the secret of the map for himself. Mickey is given a brush, and Yen Sid proclaims, "It's up to you to choose where the magic will take you. The possibilities are endless!" Mickey waves the brush, painting one last adventure. The stage splits and Princess Tiana from "The Princess and the Frog" sings her way onto stage. It's a great final scene. When the song ends streamers rain down into the crowd. Mickey says bye to the crowd and begins to walk off stage. Just as Mickey is almost off stage the spot appears. Mickey turns around and sees him and says, "Let the journey continue!" and the spot jumps off screen as Mickey leaves the stage. And that's the show! After the show a group of trumpeters came on stage and announced that the premiere party was now beginning in Fantasyland. After the special guests left for the party, there was a quick Q&A session for the media with Michael Jung, Vice president of creative development at WDI, and Kevin Eld, Head of creative entertainment for Walt Disney parks and resorts. A few things we learned during the Q&A session: 1. The show took about two years to develop. 2. The show was designed to be able to evolve over time, so scenes might change or be added in the future. 3. While the show is unique to Disneyland at the moment, it is very possible that it could make its way to other Disney properties in the future. Spears and I both loved the show, and definitely recommend coming to see it! Now to the premiere party! Outside the party there were musicians getting everyone into the festive spirit. Spears loved the pink carpet! Fantasyland was filled with food stands and bars and tables just for the event. TPR loves food! TPR loves desserts too! And Disney did not disappoint! Those cupcakes have edible glitter on them! Mmmmmmmm! There were candelabras with beautiful bouquets throughout the land. And did I mention food? At this station were hot dogs and tater tots with all sorts of toppings. Spears loved the tater tots! (Almost as much as Napoleon Dynamite) There was an impressive DJ booth set up in front of Casey Jr. TPR loves food. TPR loves desserts. But what does TPR love most of all? Open bars! There was a special drink for the evening called the "Mapmaker Martini." It was made with peach schnapps, blue curacao, and vodka. Spears and I each decided to try one. They were delicious! And they even came in light-up cups. There were some special photo ops for the evening, one of which was with King Louie. At the other photo location was Mickey Mouse in his show attire. We got to hold the brushes from the show too and paint magic with Mickey! As night fell, Fantasyland was aglow with pink and blue lights. All the rides were open as well, and they had no lines. Here's Spears in front of the non-existent Peter Pan line. I wish it was always like this! A shot of some of the food tables in front of Sleeping Beauty Castle. We then headed over to Fantasy Faire, a newly opened area of Fantasyland. At The Royal Hall you can meet, talk to, and take photos with various Disney princesses. It's really nice having a quiet area where you can interact with the princesses. The princesses taught me how to pose like a prince! When you meet characters around the park it's often noisy and rushed with people in the background of your photos. The royal hall solves these problems. You wait in one line to meet three different princesses. They each take the time to talk to guests, and the area is well lit and private, making for better photos. Also part of Fantasy Faire is the Royal Theatre. The Royal Theatre brings classic Disney stories to life in new ways. Before the show, maidens from the town give the audience instructions to hoot and holler when various things happen in the show. The performers act out classic Disney stories in a comedic way. It's not just a simple re-telling of the stories - there are lots of humor and antics added to make the stories interesting, even if you know them well. There are two shows, one relating to “Beauty and the Beast,” and the other relating to “Tangled.” We saw the "Beauty and the Beast" show. The costuming was great. As was the lighting. Lumière even makes an appearance. There's also live piano playing as the soundtrack for the show. And the characters levitate! (Okay, not really) There are happy moments. And touching moments. Awwww. There's fog. And confetti! Here's Spears posing with some of the performers from the show. Disney has always been known for their live entertainment, but things have only gotten better with these new additions. Pro tip: Don't miss playing with this music box when you visit Fantasy Faire! One more princess photo to round out our Fantasy Faire coverage. Back behind the castle, Spears spent some time dancing with Louie. The tater tots were really flowing this evening. Princess Spears took a seat in her royal throne in front of Dumbo. We decided to take a ride on Dumbo to end the night. A cast member escorted Princess Spears to her flying elephant. Weeeee! This is what the world looks like when you ride Dumbo. This is also what the world looks like when you've had too many Mapmaker Martinis. This is also what the world looks like when you've had too many tater tots. The castle was as pretty as ever this evening. Sadly, the party came to an end and we had to head back towards the hotel. Main Street was nearly empty, so we snapped a few photos. Here's Princess Spears in front of the castle. As we left, Disney handed us each a party favor. They really do think of everything! An amazing end to an amazing night. Back at The Grand Californian Princess Spears sat in one of the mini kid's chairs to watch some TV in the lobby. When we got back to our room we caught the tail end of World of Color from the balcony. As much as I would've loved to stay up and enjoy the view, we had to be up super early the next morning to cover the kickoff of the Monstrous Summer 24-hour event, so we had to hit the hay. Shhhh, the princess is sleeping! Thanks Disney for throwing a truly spectacular event! We had an amazing time and will never forget it. Mickey and the Magical Map and Fantasy Faire are both great additions to Disneyland that raise the bar for live entertainment, and we definitely recommend that people check them out. Be sure to check out part 2 of this report below!
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It was stated during the Media Event that it will not be returning as a Haunt Attraction. I do agree, it was one of the better and more unique haunted attractions. Not to beat a dead horse, but did they say ever? Or that as of this time, there are no plans for it to be returning as a themed Haunt Attraction? I know it's all symantics, but as we have all learned many times over, never say never, and the devil is in the details. Or in this case, the wording. I say this as I too love the Haunt retheme of TMLR. More directly, the "Blood Moon" retheme. The last couple of years hasn't been as good. Now that I'm thinking of it, moving the witch over to the Log Ride might be an awesome idea. The witch was great last year. To clarify, they didn't say that it will "never" be themed for Haunt or Xmas. They said there are currently no plans to do so. Add me too the list of people who enjoyed the haunt overlay for the ride. I hope they can find a way to do it once the new updates are broken in.
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Knott's held a hard hat tour to show off the new Boardwalk expansion and the updated Timber Mountain Log Ride, and TPR was there with David and Spears! Check out our full report below... Knott's is going all out this year with a massive Boardwalk expansion as well as a full renovation of the Timber Mountain Log Ride. They invited TPR to attend a presentation and hard hat tour of both projects, so read on to get the scoop on both of these new additions! In typical Knott's fashion, they pulled out all the stops. We were greeted with an awesome breakfast before the tours. Knott's never disappoints! Jennifer Blazey welcomed everyone and then introduced Raffi Kaprelyan, the General Manager of Knott's. Raffi was the first of four presenters who gave us a ton of information on the new additions. I have deemed them the Fantastic Four! First up, info on the Boardwalk expansion. Knott's is adding 3 new rides to the Boardwalk this year! They're adding a family roller coaster and two flat rides in the space once occupied by Perilous Plunge. The family roller coaster is a Mack Wild Mouse coaster named "Coast Rider." They showed us the logo, images of the ride vehicles, and a drawing of the entrance marquee. The coaster is 52 feet high with 1,339 feet of track. The ride lasts 2.5 minutes. This is a sample of what it will look like once it's finished and running! The second ride Knott's is adding is a Larson Flying Scooters ride named "Surfside Gliders." It's 28 feet high and will make 10 revolutions per minute. The third and final ride Knott's is adding to the Boardwalk is "Pacific Scrambler." This Eli Bridge Scrambler has run in various locations at Knott's in the past, but has been in storage since Pony Express was built. They're bringing it back out and sprucing it up to round out the new Boardwalk additions. They're going to be installing Windseeker-esque lights onto the flat rides, which should add a nice glow to the area, and will look great in photographs. They said they want the area to look great in both the daytime and the nighttime. Moving on from the Boardwalk Expansion, here are details on the Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation. This is Bud Hurlbut's original Log Ride sketch from 1969. Knott's is in the process of a multi-million dollar upgrade to the attraction. They're working to bring it into the 21st century while maintaining the aspects of the ride that have made it a classic. I'm a huge fan of this ride, and I'm happy to report that it appears the changes Knott's is making to it will not disappoint! Here is a drawing of a scene from the updated attraction. The new scenes will involve animation, warmth, humor, and new characters while maintaining the ride's original charm. Knott's is working with Garner Holt on the project, one of the most reputable names in the business. They're building all new human and animal figures, nearly all of which will have subtle motion to bring life to each scene. The animals will now be made of man-made materials, with synthetic eyes, teeth, and fur. Existing face sculptures will be replaced with silicone masks, but the same art style will be preserved. Many of the masks are molded from the existing figures. A sampling of the many molds Garner Hold is making. A photo of an employee working on the animals. It's surprising how life-like they're able to make the artificial creatures look. An employee working on making hands for the characters in the ride. The new props and scenery pieces are being detailed by the guy who painted the props and scenery for the Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland. Knott's set up a display of objects from the ride to show off the quality and attention to detail going into each piece. The new figures are amazingly life-like! It's hard to believe that wasn't a real owl! I'm glad he's not real - far less stinky! I wanted to walk up and pet the dog, it was that realistic! Oh no, I've been axed! Even worse, he's going after Spears! There were a few boards set up with more images from the attraction. A closer look... I'm excited to see all this stuff in real life. Another drawing of a scene from the ride. "En route to a sensational inspirational celebrational HOOTENANNY" But enough talk, lets see some of this stuff in person! Everyone was given a hard hat to protect our fragile heads. Whoa! Look who was hiding in Spears' hard hat! It's Gertrude!!! Gertrude is totally excited for the new rides. We walked down the train tracks to get to the construction site. Here we are! The platform in front is for Pacific Scrambler, the second platform back is for Surfside Gliders, and in the back is Coast Rider. Spears is demonstrating how Pacific Scrambler will work. Gertrude wanted to experience what Surfside Gliders might feel like, so she hopped in a wheelbarrow and instructed a construction worker to push her around. I think he's testing a new nighttime water spectacular! The world is a Carousel of Color! Coast Rider's track is now complete, so testing should begin soon! Or in Gertrude's case, testing begins now. This is the operator's booth for Pacific Scrambler. Look what Gertrude started! Random bit of info: the old light blue paint showed every speck of dirt, so they'll be painting the pool a darker color. It's nice to see them considering all these little details. Random bit of info #2: Coast rider's height limit will be 44" with an adult, or 54" without an adult. Look who showed up! Snoopy in a construction hat! He totally struck a manly pose! Snoopy is quite the ladies' man. Thanks to Mike, Snoopy, and Jeff for showing us everything, answering all our questions, and posing for photos! Bye, bye Snoopy! Nice seeing you! As we leave, here's one last look at the Pacific Scrambler platform. And here's one last look at the Surfside Gliders platform. It's still very much a construction site, but not for much longer! The new Boardwalk rides are currently on schedule to open Memorial Day Weekend. A couple shots of Coast Rider on our way to the Timber Mountain Log Ride. Track is complete, but they're still doing lots of work on and around the ride. Here's Spears under the first drop. The lift hill is on the left in this photo and the drop is on the right. And here's the ride behind the construction walls. The Sky Cabin looked pretty this morning with the sun shining around it. One more Sky Cabin photo. Over to the Timber Mountain Log Ride, there is still lots of construction going on. Gertrude was disappointed to see that there weren't any logs. Spears is getting ready to go into the mountain! Here's a photo of the log ride layout. Scene #6 is where we're headed. The ride is still under construction so there wasn't much to see in the way of characters or theming. It's scheduled to open May 30th, so things will likely start getting put back together pretty quickly. There were lots of ladders, wires, and exposed materials. A few bits of information we found out: The lighting and audio for the ride are both being completely re-done... The logs will be the same as before, and are currently in the process of being refurbished... There aren't plans to theme the ride for Haunt or Christmas anymore... The support poles in the room are normally themed as trees, which is why you've probably never noticed them before! Oh no! Gertrude put the "logs" back in the log ride. Ew! Maybe Gertrude needs to wear a diaper from now on. Well there you have it! Hopefully you enjoyed this behind the scenes look at the awesome projects currently under construction at Knott's. The Boardwalk Expansion will create more of a family atmosphere and a finished look in the back of the park, and the Timber Mountain Log Ride renovation seems like it will strike the perfect balance between new and old - bringing the ride into the 21st century while maintaining its classic story and charm. Thanks Knott's for inviting us to attend this event! We had a great time, and can't wait to ride these new additions this summer!
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I just started playing... Username is ILoveRides.
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I'm loving the coverage so far. In addition to the pictures, I swear these videos get better every year - excellent job Robb and Elissa on the interviewing! The new S&S products all look fascinating. S&S seems like they're pushing the boundaries as much as anyone, while also keeping an eye on efficiency and product cost. I would really love to see some of their new ideas come to fruition. Also - thumbs up to Kevin Rowher. He impressed me with his honesty and openness at the West Coast Bash talk he gave a few years ago at Knott's, and it shows here too. He's a great PR person. I enjoyed the interview with Joel Manby as well, and it was nice to see how excited Herschend Entertainment is for RMC's technologies. With Six Flags and Herschend clearly very bullish about RMC, I've got to wonder where Cedar Fair is on this one. Every time the, "Will GhostRider get the Rocky Mountain treatment?" question comes up at West Coast Bash, the Knott's team seems clueless as to what we're talking about. Hopefully the success these RMC coasters appear to be having with their competitors will make Knott's and Cedar Fair in general take a closer look - I feel like they're really missing the boat in this department.
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^ We liked it better this year. Trapped is totally a standout maze, the rest of the new mazes this year are great, and it was cool to see the midnight witch hanging. Plus pretty much everything that was good from the year before is still there. For me, the only 2 negatives this year were: 1. The lack of Haunt theming on the Mine Ride. It would've been nice to see some decorations and fog even if there weren't actors. I feel like they could turn it into something like Haunted Mansion Holiday where there aren't scares, but are still decorations. 2. The monsters in the scare zones can't pose for photos with guests anymore. I understand the reasoning behind this, but somehow I still preferred to be able to take a photo or two.
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Last night was the opening night for Halloween Haunt at Knott's Berry Farm (AKA Knott's Scary Farm), and TPR was there! Check out all of our coverage below: Welcome to the 40th Knott's Halloween Haunt. Knott's Scary Farm was the first theme park Halloween celebration, and it's still the largest. This trip report is brought to you by Spears, David, and David's gnarly sunburn! We start off in the Boardwalk Ballroom for the VIP Party. The place was packed! The event was catered and had more food than you could possibly ever eat. Mmmmm, food! More food! TPR <3's food! Around the food were lots of cool decorations to get everyone in the Halloween spirit. There were a bunch of intricately carved pumpkins. This ice witch was really neat! What does TPR like more than food? DESSERTS! There were a ton of cool looking and delicious treats. Ok, so TPR likes desserts more than food. But what does TPR like even more than desserts? AN OPEN BAR! It's like TPR heaven. On our way out of the party we took a picture in front of the Knott's Haunt wall that was set up. It was almost time for Ed Alonzo's Funhouse, so we headed towards the Charles M. Schulz Theatre. Mature content, sounds good to me! Here's a look at the stage for this year's show. There was an intro video for the show with a cameo appearance by Neil Patrick Harris. Then Ed Alonzo drives in. Would you like some poop? As always, there's lots of cool magic. Ed is a great magician! There's audience participation... Dancing... Super sexy dancing... And an awesome acrobatic act. I just noticed that the way the letters got cropped in this photo makes it kind of R-rated. And obviously it wouldn't be the Ed Alonzo Show without crazy hilarious moments like this... ... and this! This show never disappoints! If you go to Haunt, make sure to check it out. Like most of the entertainment at Knott's, it's so much better than your standard amusement park show. We met a bunch of TPR members and fans throughout the night. Here's a picture with some of them! It was nice meeting you guys! We decided to check out one of the new mazes, and on the way we snapped this picture of a coffin filled with glowy things for the merchandise enthusiasts. Here's one of the new mazes for 2012, Pinocchio Unstrung. All of the new mazes have lots of detail and are some of the best work Knott's has done. A shot of Spears getting scared in the maze. We took a trip to Pleasure Island. And ran into the most evil Pinocchio ever! Wherever you walk at Knott's Scary Farm there are always monsters lurking in the shadows. Sadly, the Calico Mine Ride didn't get a haunt overlay this year. Even if scare actors weren't possible it would've been nice to see the fog and decorations return, but alas it wasn't to be. But the good thing about it not getting a haunt overlay is that the line is short or non-existent! We even got a car to ourselves. Fortunately, the Timber Mountain Log Ride still got the haunt treatment. But unfortunately, we were mis-informed and thought it was the same as last year, so we ended up not riding it last night. It turns out it has a new theme this year, so we'll need to ride it on a future visit. On our way to some of the other new mazes we had to pass through the Ghost Town. Here's Spears hesitating to enter into the fog. There are monsters lurking in there! And a witch! Brave souls wandering into the fog. Watch out Spears! She had no idea she was about to be scared. Spears says, "Ok, you got me!" "No, really. You got me. You can stop chasing me now. No! Stop! AHHHHHH! NOOOO! AHHHHH!" And then Spears got eaten. Ok, that didn't actually happen. Hello Mr. Werewolf. Here's the entrance to Trick Or Treat, one of the new-for-2012 mazes. You ring the doorbell, just like a trick-or-treater. I suppose we should've known not to enter into a stranger's house. Next up, End Games. This maze isn't new, but it's located near Ghostrider now. One more shot from End Games. Next we check out Dominion of the Dead. This one was really fun. It was a beautiful maze, and there were some unique scares in it that you don't find in most of the other mazes. I would say that aside from Trapped (The new up-charge maze) this is my favorite of the new-for-2012 mazes. Spears getting ready to enter. Here we go! It's hard to see in this out-of-focus picture, but Spears got scared and dropped to the floor! Hilarious! Another cool thing about Dominion of the Dead is that the exit feeds right into Delirium. Delirium was new last year. I liked it a lot then, and I still like it a lot now. Creepy! Looks like someone didn't pay the cable bill. One more shot from Delirium. Now on to the maze that most of you are probably wondering about, Trapped. This is the new-for-2012, up-charge, make-a-reservation-in-advance maze. We weren't allowed to take photos inside, but I'll say a little bit about the experience. You actually have to sign a waiver to go in! Make sure you read all the details before you sign, they're very important! Ok, so we couldn't take pictures, but here is what you need to know: 1. There's a "safe word" in case the maze gets too intense for you. That's how you know this maze is going to be good! 2. It's not vegan friendly! (But we did still manage to escape with our vegan powers, yay!) 3. It's good! Really good! In fact, it's probably the best maze I've ever gone through. Is it worth the money? I would say yes. Especially if you go with a larger group. If you go with 6 people it's only $10 per person, and it's totally worth that much. You also get a free 5x7 photo at the end. So yeah, that's about all I'm going to say about this maze because if I say more it'll ruin the experience for people. If you're thinking about doing it, my advice is to NOT read reviews of the maze before doing it. It would have been a lot less fun if we knew what to expect. And kudos to the talent working this maze. All of the performers were great, especially the guy working in the bathroom last night. Next we headed to Calico Square for the Midnight Witching Hour, a homage to the classic hangings of Halloween Haunt past. Space Shuttle Endeavour make a quick fly-over before the show. (Not really) The show started with a procession marching through the crowd with torches and a prisoner. The prisoner pleaded that she wasn't a witch. Nonetheless, a noose was placed around her neck, and the crowd was asked to determine if she was guilty or not. The crowd found her guilty! So she was hung! Smoke and fire burst out... And suddenly she turned into a real witch in front of everyone's eyes. She's evil looking! She even teleported onto the roof of the Saloon. After some preaching and cackling and fire, she disappeared into the night and the show was over. We then headed over to the 40th Halloween Haunt Museum. It's nice to see Knott's honoring the history of Haunt. There were lots of historical pieces around the room. Another shot of some of the historical pieces. This wall had all sorts of information about previous Haunt events. Next up was the new show in The Mystery Lodge, called "Unearthed." If you've seen the normal Mystery Lodge show, you probably have some idea of what to expect here. It was nice to see Knott's use The Mystery Lodge for a Halloween show. Bonus: You also get to see Jeff Tucker's beautiful face throughout the show. (Buy The Sixth Key!) And there are some fun surprises in the show! Here's the 40th anniversary Haunt shirt. Oh, and this is Knott's, so lets not forget there are rides too! Xcelerator was a walk-on! You can't go wrong with this coaster. Here's the spot where Perilous Plunge used to stand. Gathering everyone's opinions together, I'm pretty sure this is what most people want in place of Perilous Plunge. It's called "Pink Bullet" because there's nothing pink about it. Speaking of bullets of various colors, here's Silver Bullet. We took a spin on it to round out the night. Thanks Knott's for inviting TPR to attend the opening night of Haunt. Knott's is always super nice to TPR, and we totally appreciate it! And happy birthday Haunt! 40 years! I'll spare you all the "Over the Hill" cards and decorations. Thanks for checking out our trip report! Now go check out Haunt at Knott's, it's a ton of fun!