better_by_design

It is definitely MORE steel, but as someone earlier said, plate steel is a lot cheaper than tubular steel... as far as manufacturing costs go, I'd have to assume that it would be fairly straightforward (although anything new is hard) to use robotic cutting and welding? Any smarter folks care to interject? Personally, this could create a really different skyline look for a major coaster... single ribbon with fewer supports. And potentially create some new possibilities for coaster placement if you can get longer spans between supports.

Thanks for the amazing in-depth photos - the most details I've seen yet of this amazing installation. They really hit some nerves on this... very impressed.

So, that spare (non-structural) frame on the lift hill - just there to help hold evac stairs and/or falling object deflectors, or some aid to hold theme elements?

Completely true - the whole "ride the movies" theme was great when they honestly built RIDES... At least the major new attractions are ride/movie hybrids, and not just "sit in a theater" "attractions"... My biggest delight at Universal Singapore was how FEW movie-based attractions they have - with a pass given for Shrek, and obviously the original-at-the-time Transformers, pretty much the ENTIRE rest of the park is all ACTUAL rides... something they've kept up with the new openings they've had since the park debuted (Madagascar, Sesame Street, Puss n Boots).... very refreshing and unusual these days. And I think everyone over 30 has similar issues (to some degree or another) with getting motion sick... as an example, I still enjoy Star Tours 3D, but the rest of the adults in my family refuse to ride it at all anymore... getting stuck on a "3D or bust" bandwagon isn't an audience-inclusive tactic.

Co-sign on Blue Fire - still one of my favorite coasters for exactly the reasons you describe: fun, fast, and just joyful - and incredibly re-rideable. It is simply put, incredibly fun, and doesn't beat you up at all. The comparison to *most* of the "top rated" coasters in the world is just that - they are faster/more intense/etc but are also things I can't do 5 or 10 times in a row without feeling it later (if not immediately). Blue Fire would be an awesome ride to marathon. And I fully agree with your overall take on the park - not much "World Class Outstanding Ride" but SO MANY very good rides, in an AMAZING setting, run by super-efficient operators, with tasty food, great themeing, and a lovely atmosphere? Sign me up. Jealous you got to do 3 full days there to fully take it all in! Thanks for writing!

That's the twist. It's simply a lift hill and one drop. Then it brakes, goes inside of a shed, and you watch the rest of the ride on a large screen. Well, that's just an educated guess based on Universal's recent track record. Hahahaha!

I would be over-joyed to see RMC retrack this ride, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was GCI. If I had to guess, I think you're right. I think we are looking at something more along the lines of what GCI did to Boulder Dash (which was awesome) but that's just my guess. Here's to hoping that whoever does this work does it well. I'd love the chance to experience what Ghostrider was like when it was in its prime. The first time I rode this coaster was after it had started becoming rough and barely rideable. I was lucky enough to ride Ghost Rider during it's first month, and it was indeed amazing... and have re-ridden it a few times in the last couple years, and it just makes me sad now. Not only is it rough, but it's just how far it has fallen from the original greatness of the ride. As others have said, you don't need to change the layout, just get it back to original awesomeness, hopefully in a way (track type, new trains, MORE MAINTENANCE) that hopefully keeps it that way for a long, long time. Good move by Knotts!

In much the same boat - the Toy Story additions should nice balance out the Star Wars additions for age groups once both new lands are open. I'm extremely happy that Disney is doing something on this scale for Toy Story - I was afraid they'd simply close another Toy Story Land like Paris or Hong Kong - glad they realized that those attractions not only weren't interesting/marquee enough, but not even close to the kind of capacity they would need in Florida either. As much as I love new attractions, the expansions to the (massively popular for a reason) TSMM and Soaring rides are a safe bet and the right thing to do for guests. Mildly sad to see the stunt car show go - it was pretty amazing in it's heyday - but the key word is *WAS*. Excited for this new hotness!

Great TR, thanks for posting! I love the 'epic' themeing that USS gets... Mummy/Egypt especially are just on such a bigger scale outside the ride that the US parks aren't even in the same league! I also fully appreciate the fact that the developers have opted 100% for RIDES in their park over film based attractions - with the exception of Shrek, there are literally no movies in the whole park! And I think we can all forgive them a single 4D movie, right? My only nitpick about the whole thing is that the actual on-ride theme elements for Madagascar and Rapids Adventure seemed a bit light. In Madagascar, HUGE show building, great ride system, massive, long ride... but very little animatronics, mainly static cartoon figures. With River Adventure, honestly not that many dinos, compared to the US and Japanese versions... which is sad because I liked the unique take on the ride system, and again the EPIC ride length! But overall, a great park, basically a "pocket battleship" in terms of attractions packed into a small space, and lots of good unique stuff... Sesame Street Spaghetti Space Chase is one of the better attempts to do an original family dark ride (felt very Muppet like) and of course BSG! Thanks again for the TR, and good show Universal Singapore!

I'm more and more intrigued by this park the more details and designs come out... as much as Tokyo Disneyland was (at opening anyways) a copy of the Magic Kingdom, and HKDL was a small-scale Disneyland, this looks much more inspired and off the map as Paris was at opening... much more ambitious and creative as a re-imagining of what a 'magic kingdom' park can be. Of course, the real proof will be there at opening... and a decade later, hopefully with continued investment and expansion, and the proper care and maintenance. I'm honestly completely fascinated by how they've completely flipped the Main Street/Hub/Castle opening act into something very new and fresh looking. And I'm boggled by how epic Tomorrowland looks... the above-ground, soaring walkways looks way more like the movie "Tomorrowland" than any of the theme park lands that carry the name!

OK, it's actually the EXPLORERS Club, but who's being picky now? Seriously, this is cool, and pretty much looks and sounds fake... but it's not! Also, James Cameron is a member. http://narrative.ly/off-the-grid/secrets-of-the-worlds-super-explorers/

Probably so, as the business case won't be so tight as this to make a difference. Also, hold your horses recreational Imagineers - as a betting man, I suspect that the initial phases of whatever this investment may be, is entirely likely to be boring infrastructure stuff like a new parking garage. Which is pretty darn necessary, but major dollars.

How does Lightning Run compare with a Mega Lite? Conceptually, looks like the same idea, by a different company... which is great, as Mega Lites have sadly gotten no respect here in the US. Also, Deep Water Dive: Unsubscribe. I'm crazy, but I'm not that crazy. Full respect for Kentucky Kingdom for building that, and it IS sad they haven't gotten more press about it, but not way am I getting on that thing.

This was a great reminder to put Holiwood Nights on my 'to do' list for next year. Thanks for the TR!

So this is replacing the NASCAR Cafe? Any connection to Disney doing a deal for an NBA "experience & Restaurant"? As in, is NBA City also on the chopping block? I am predicting that Universal using "NBC Sports" as a license is.... cheaper than NASCAR + NBA. Just guessing though

That (along with a nicely balanced portfolio of great rides & shows) is why it's our favorite day at a US Disney theme park. I'm incredibly impressed with how well they've managed the move of Festival of the Lion King into Africa... I mean, it should have been there all along, but still... Now here's hoping the continued new additions to DAK continue to be at this level over the next few years!

To add to the chorus of "impressive" "beautiful", oooh-ahhh... If we take out the always-impressive, classic "mountain" themed coasters, and also the enclosed variety (although let's be honest, most indoor coasters have ugly/functional buildings), this has to be the best looking in the world, hands-down, no debate, right? Or am I missing any non-mountain, non-enclosed, themed coasters that compete, purely in aesthetic/theme?

I had SFFT as my "home park" for a couple years, and it's great to see it getting a fresh ride. Having ridden Green Lantern, I'm really curious how BTR version (??) will compare... and how good the queue really is - not to mention how well operated it is. Of course, the iRat conversion was a way-overdue way of getting the Rattler back to something that rode as cool as it looked, Superman looks awesome again now - always a very good ride, in a great setting, and the rest of the park was always pretty, friendly employees, and just an easy B-class Six Flags. Fingers crossed! Thanks for photos folks!

I VOTE YES! Also, great photos, you managed to capture a lot of the mood and great lighting design. I'm very impressed you managed to get in 4 Tower rides on a busy day! Also, it's rare folks talk about Big Band Beat, which is a massively impressive show in terms of the volume of talent put on stage. Yes, relying on actual talent from the whole cast (and a full band!) instead of just characters bopping around to movie excerpts.

Bang on - with the park being a primarily one day experience, I'm incredibly impressed that they're getting 90+% occupancy. Of course, having great seasonal entertainment and the recent major attraction additions had to have helped. They certainly have the land on the master plan to follow through on an Anaheim style layout, and hopefully with 750 more hotel rooms coming online, a Downtown Disney (or "Disney Town" now?) is queued up soon. And the new hotel definitely becomes the first one I want to stay at... assuming they pry me away from my usual places in TST.

I love how this park is so great that what would be highly-promoted things - at pretty much any other park - are considered a quiet year!

Very nice video! Any word on who the first outside customer for this new ride system will be?

I glimpsed the construction action from the freeway on the way to the airport (PVG) today - fantastic to see and imagine what this will all look like in... well... maybe a year from now? Any bets on when the park actually opens? The Toy Story Hotel is definitely an underwhelming exterior... hopefully the interior designs make up for it. Curious what room rates will be like. Announcing the Lion King in Mandarin was very cool - I'm assuming this is part of the additional $800M in new investments Iger announced earlier this year? I think it's a very savvy move by Disney to try to get additional business for DisneyTown and avoid the early financial troubles of EuroDisney (and to a lesser extent HKDL) - with similar potential issues (easy access to a major city, a 1 day park with inconvenient hotels) Shanghai could definitely be challenging to fill restaurants and hotel rooms - but at least they're restraining themselves to only 2 hotels initially. I also predict that the lake walking path will be surprisingly popular.

I really want that too, but then I realize that the 2 trackless rides I have been on at TDLR (Aquatopia and Pooh), have been on one level with no hills, etc. They may have figured that out by now, how to get around different levels, etc. But if it's tracked, then I hope it's something like DL's Alice In Wonderland (with levels), or even Indy. Do ya wanna ride a sleigh ride? Not sure how *hills* would work for trackless... are there any elevation changes at Mystic Manor? I'm guessing the traction drives on the vehicles could handle some slope... spiral ramps could be very cool! I'm guessing that elevators would be pretty straightforward to implement, but perhaps not an obvious match to the theme... Just visited TDS last week, and am pretty excited to see what goes in that corner of the park! It'll definitely help provide some more reason to trek past Port Discovery, and will hopefully look amazing from the river!

Some lesser-priced cruises ARE less pleasant... which is why friends really question friends who book Carnival cruises! My family has done 5 or 6 different cruise lines, and although Disney is likely the best (and most expensive) Royal Caribbean really does stand up in most categories, especially overall service. It definitely depends which ships too... the Oasis/Allure are just something else in terms of bringing a theme park to the ocean, and Quantum looks like a nice complement to that idea. Robb, please keep the pics coming and thanks for making me jealous!