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Oh, c'mon! This isn't a Universal attraction! Roll, stop, watch video . . . repeat. That's the Universal way!

I liked that, too. Hope it catches on.

Still more IAAPA! [twitter] [/twitter] You want to go panning for gold or even shark teeth? You can at IAAPA HQ! Look who came to IAAPA! It’s Big Bird! He’ll be a big part of a new Sally Corp. Dark Ride coming to Port Aventura in 2019! Wiegand is showing off “VR Waterslide” technology! Water proof Virtual Reality headsets for slides and pools! Wow! The Gravity Group is showing off the awesome new trains for @KentuckyKingdom’s new for 2019 Kentucky Flyer!

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Soaring Eagle showing off their latest crazy contraptions! We rode their tower rides at Bigfoot Fan Club in Branson and they are AWESOME!!! At the HUSS booth you can buy everything from a “motion theater” attraction to a giant King Kong ride! It’s like Premier rides and Busch Gardens know how to really get us excited for a new ride...put it in cake form!!!! Yes, that’s a cake version of the new for 2019 Tigris coaster train! S&S will have some new hotness to unveil at 1:45pm today! Can’t wait to see what the train for Kenny Kangaroo’s new coaster looks like! Know all those awesome prizes you win at parks? They’re all here for the parks to buy! KT’s favorite are squishmallows. They’re super soft, super cute plushies!

Would you ride this crazy thing from GyroStore? I what their rider to vomit ratio is? [twitter] [/twitter] Vekoma are the ride manufacturrs behind some very popular Disney Parks attractions such at Tron Lightcycle Run at Shanghai Disneyland and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Walt Disney World! You can get bumper cars and dark ride vehicles in any shape, size, or theme you want here at IAAPA HQ! What would you theme your bumper car to? Good news everyone! I talked with the Dippin Dots big wigs and they confirmed EVERY crazy coaster rumor you ever heard/told! All for 2019! Also, the new Oreo mint flavor is insane!!!

Intamin has this awesome new VR way to show off their amazing drop towers! Dalton J. Fischer and I just rode! Worth it just for the simulated all Intamin surrounding park you can look at. [twitter] [/twitter]

More from IAAPA! Martin & Vleminckx have roller coaster models and singing penguins at their booth! These obstacle courses from Ropes Courses are always a highlight of IAAPA HQ! They may not be roller coasters but they are just as thrilling! This “Zipflyer” is a new kind of single rider suspended roller coaster. Would you ride it?

Chance Rides is showing off roller coasters and rhinos! Great Coasters showing off a beautiful booth Here at IAAPA with some trains and models to salivate over!

^Gotta work up to Tower of Terror somehow.

My favorite Christmas Town spots are both in Italy: the Polar Pathway (Escape from Pompeii) . . . and Holiday Hills (Festa Italia). The latter reminds me of the decorations they used in my hometown when I was a kid.

Christmas Town “Hard-Hat” Tour It’s hard to believe that Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg starts on November 17 (next Saturday). Sheesh! Didn’t they just finish Howl-o-Scream? Come to think of it, I remember seeing “Christmas trees” during the last night of HOS. They were wrapped in lights, just not illuminated. Such is the change of seasons in the theme-park world. This is the tenth anniversary of Christmas Town. It’s interesting to consider how this event evolved. Much like the first Howl-o-Scream, Christmas Town originally involved a small portion of the park (Italy and Forest of Fun weren’t part of it). All of Busch Gardens is part of Christmas Town now. The park gave us a backstage look at some of the work being done by the their 200+ team of decorators, who perform around 10,000 hours of work transforming the park from a realm of doom and darkness to a land of winter fantasy. It takes a lot of work to put up 10,000,000 lights; 20,000 ornaments; and all the other decor unique to each village in Busch Gardens. So, what’s new for Christmas Town’s tenth anniversary season? Christmas Town Express: Guests can sing-a-long to their favorite carols on this 1.5-mile train trip, which starts at Caribou Station in Fort New France. The ride will feature 2,000,000 Christmas lights and “themed holiday vignettes” ( round trip--no stops.) It’s nice to see the train being used as a “show,” rather than just a transportation system. Concept photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Wilkommenhaus: Enjoy the “sweet smell of Christmas treats” as you watch a new Christmas spectacle (via projection mapping) in the park’s German village. The show runs every 15 minutes on the clock building near Land of the Dragons and the carousel. I think this will be a nice addition to the O' Tannenbaum Christmas-tree-light show in front of the Festhaus. Photo courtesy of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Elmo’s Christmas Wish: Rosita, Grover, Zoe, and Cookie Monster help Elmo find his Christmas wish in this new show at the Sesame Street Forest of Fun. The park’s other Christmas shows will be back: Gift of Harmony (Italy), 'Twas that Night (ice show in France), Deck the Halls (Festhaus in Germany), Scrooge No More (Globe Theater in England), and Gloria (Abbey Stone Theatre in Ireland). You can still, of course, visit Santa’s Workshop (and dine at Santa’s Fireside Feast) and visit Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and his friends. And there’s all the great holiday food and beverages (particularly the adult ones). Looks like the elves are getting excited. "Oooo! I see people in Santa hats!" Let’s have a look at how Christmas Town is coming along. The elves can’t wait for Christmas Town to begin. But they hate getting wet while they wait. “Sheesh! I feel like I’ve strung more than half those 10,000,000 lights myself, I tell you what!” Our first stop was the Festhaus. Yep. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” in here. They’re rehearsing “Deck the Halls.” This show looks a lot like one of those old-school TV Christmas specials. This is where the “O Tannenbaum” show is held (about every half-hour or so). The tree’s lights are synchronized to music. It's a local favorite at Christmas Town. I think the elves like this show, too. A little hot soup might’ve been good today. They opened Santa’s Workshop in NewKastle (formerly DarKastle) last year. It used to be in the building where they house the HOS “No Escape” rooms (that’s where the new projection show is this year). Speaking of Howl-o-Scream, maybe they should leave this shop as it is for those who wish you a very METAL Christmas. This little Christmas tree was in “stealth mode” during the last weekend of HOS. In through Santa’s Magical Quick Queue entrance. Matthew, of the park’s entertainment division, dressed appropriately to fill us in on this year’s Christmas Town. There’s still some work to be done . . . . . . and the elves are busy doing it. Hmm--presents? For whom, I wonder. “I am the captain of the guard. Welcome to the presence of . . . . . . the Claus and his wife!" Santa hanging out with his elves, Holly and Jolly. Santa, you rascal! Should I get a photo with these characters? Why not? Look at all these geeks in their silly hats . . . wait, never mind. Here are the photo options when you visit Santa. It’s the merriest equipment storage area ever! Of course, there was hot chocolate. Mrs. Claus supervised the making of s’mores. A huge scnickerdoodle with chopped graham crackers, marshmallows, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. It was good, but I couldn’t finish it. Time to get our presents! Yay! Here’s one last look at part of the workshop queue. It winds through other rooms themed to Santa’s home and workshop at the North Pole, too. Elves give the big tree some more love. Here’s how my picture with Santa turned out. Thanks for the present and behind-the-scenes tour, Busch Gardens! See you at Christmas Town.

They display the wait time for the next monorail on the station platform, too.

Excellent photos and trip report. I'm impressed with how well they themed this park.

^You never know who you will meet in the Casbah!

I remember being there in September, and you could still hear hammering and power tools coming from one half of the store (I did buy a WDW "Hawaiian" shirt while I was there). Looks like it turned out very well. EDIT: Just noticed that she's standing in front of my shirt.

Well, it's our last night. Let's try to make the most of it. "The horror . . . the horror . . ." It’s no surprise that Port Discovery looks even better after dark. Aquatopia is the prettiest pointless ride ever. I love it. Even the water glows. They run it a bit drier after dark. The future needs to look like this--now! One last look at the Aquatopia station. This is what California Disneyland’s Tomorrowland should look like. The volcano looms ominously. Not nicely, but ominously! “Arise, Asmodeus, arise! Duffy invokes thee!” The phallic symbols of Mermaid Lagoon come to life at night. (That sounded bad. Sorry.) Sheik Mickey awaits his harem. (Don’t tell Minnie!) Yeah, we rode Sindbad again. These guys are still stoned on those bananas. We stopped here to relax and get a drink. Some played Pokemon. I think I’ll grab a meal here someday. The curry looked pretty good. “Ah, so this is your first time in the Casbah, effendi? Well, watch yourself.” “There are cutthroats and villains everywhere! And they like to trap monsters!” Chandu wants you to know that he’s sort of a big deal. We ended our night with Toy Story Mania Fast Passes. You have to enter via the gaping maw of Woody. You’re a toy in Andy’s bedroom--best theming of the Toy Story rides. One last look at the volcano. Sigh. The saddest photo ever--the shuttle to Narita. Oh, the anti-climax of it. That’s all! Thanks for reading.

Well, we're getting near the end, but at least we still have DisneySea. Shiriki is very excited that we're coming back. I think he's waving at us! I don't make cheesy, shaky gifs very often. Don't get used to it. You can never get enough of Tokyo DisneySea. I’d like to stay in the Hotel Mira Costa someday, but it’s pretty expensive (shocking, I know). You can actually get wet on Aquatopia during certain times of the day. Looks like KT and Megan are OK with that. How can you make Mysterious Island even better? Visit it when the sun goes down. Nemo Mickey is ready to explore. My somewhat blurry photo doesn’t do this area justice. Yep--I’m a big fan of the classic Disney Nautilus. Looks like it’s ready to head out to sea. A very nice evening on Mediterranean Harbor. I like stopping at the USS Columbia on the American Waterfront. It’s always nice to drink a gin-and-tonic here. Teddy Roosevelt is one of my favorite presidents. This is my favorite bar at any Disney resort--and it’s usually packed. The Hotel Hightower looks especially creepy after dark. Again, there is no such thing as a bad view in this park. So, that’s how Scrooge McDuck got so rich. When you see this building at night . . . . . . how could you think it’s anything but this? Shiriki strikes again! Such an adorable little imp! “And whoever walked the floors of Hill House, walked alone.” And that would be Shiriki. (He also adorns my Christmas tree each year.) Hightower: All the babes wanted him, until Shiriki came along. Don’t miss the theming under your feet. One last post to go.

Who's ready for a nice evening river cruise? Mickey gets around. Here he is hanging out by the river in Westernland, probably wondering where Minnie is with his mint julep. When you take a cruise on the Mark Twain, . . . . . . be sure to have your passport stamped. Otherwise, Goofy will probably interrogate you somewhere, and nobody wants that. It’s mighty restful on the river at night. But work goes on at the Indian village. I recommend riding the Mark Twain after dark. It’s tougher for some drunken fur trapper to draw a bead on you at night. More waffles? Why not? I went with the more “traditional” maple walnut this time. “Good choice of waffle, mate. Ask ‘em for a ‘Captain Jack’ next time, eh? They soak it rum and set it afire. Aye, you'll feel good after eating one of those.” Well, here’s something I’ve never done at Tokyo Disneyland before. Hmm--Stitch's Great Escape in Florida immediately improved because they closed it. Still, it has to be better than Florida’s Enchanted Tiki Room: Under New Management. EDIT: I realized later that I'd used the wrong name for the Florida Stitch attraction. Stitch Encounter is like Turtle Talk and is fairly entertaining (especially if you're chosen as Stitch's old cellmate at "Space Prison"). That will be difficult, as I don’t have your number. Were these figures ever “animated,” like they are at California Disneyland? I remember that Pele had fire shooting out of her head there. Let’s see . . . singing birds, check. Singing flowers, check. This is better than the Stitch attraction in Florida for two reasons: 1) Stitch wears a cool Hawaiian shirt and sings in Japanese, and 2) he doesn’t burp a chili dog in your face. Hoo boy--they’re gonna have a hell of a time cleaning this off. We were all suitably enchanted, thank you. Here’s the castle after dark. I love the lighting. Speaking of people dressing alike and hanging out at Tokyo Disney. Aren't those bows adorable? Space Mountain sort of matches the castle at the moment. Enjoy your ride on Space Castle. I love the lighting package and mini-show in World Bazaar. Great way to end the evening. Let's hop over to DisneySea, shall we?

“Our Revels Now Are (Almost) Ended”: Day & Night Tokyo Disney Park Hopping Tokyo Disney has a unique approach to park hopping. I’d signed up for four Disney days, which meant that I could visit one park for one day, the other park the next day, then hop between the two parks for the last two days. I don’t think any other multi-park Disney resort does this. I like this system, as it spreads out the crowds over both parks and gives you a chance to explore them thoroughly. Then you can hit what you missed, and do other stuff multiple times on the park-hopping days. For example, you definitely must have more than one . . . . . . Magic Kingdom Mickey Waffle per trip. So, let’s spend our last two days in Japan hopping between Disneyland and DisneySea. Lots of photos to come, including one thing I’ve never done before, some relatively decent night photos, and the saddest photo in any Tokyo Disney trip report. I'll start with more Tokyo Disneyland, then finish up with DisneySea. But feel free to hop between the photos as you wish. You know, I don’t think we need to consult this Monorail map anymore. After all, we already know how to get to . . . BAYSIDE STATION! More Tokyo Disneyland? Why not? We studied this map carefully. Never know when you might have to hike back through the jungle. Hmm--remind me to dine here only on Saturdays. Then again, they don't say what sort of "chicken." “I say, you chaps in the boat . . . is it Saturday? We’d hate to miss chicken night back at the dock.” What? We have to go through a forbidden temple, just like in Florida? What an odd coincidence. This is a lousy photo, but they have some cool projection work in the temple. Trader Sam is offering 50% off coupons for giant-stag-beetle night at the Jungle Cruise dock. Sorry, but he’s all out of chicken-night coupons. Tokyo Disneyland’s train has only one station. Because if it made multiple stops, the government taxes it as a “transportation" system, and they’d have to charge an extra fee. It starts in Adventureland . . . . . . but leaves the jungle for Westernland. You get some good views of Big Thunder. Then you get to see some pink dinosaurs, which I guess is as good a transition as any to get back to the jungle. Let’s check out TDL after dark. Well, this is more like twilight. I suspect they’re waiting for some sort of parade. Just a hunch. It’s the 35 Happiest Celebration? Who knew? Many Japanese people like to dress alike and hang out at Tokyo Disney. Here’s a more “traditional” group. As the sun sets, the park lights up. The castle at twilight. We’ll check it out again, later. This mural was used as evidence in the Prince’s stalking trial. May Mickey bestow his blessings upon thee. I would not mess with these two. More TDL to come.

Great report! I've never been a fan of the food at SeaWorld, but they have been improving over the years. The pretzel turkey leg looks interesting. (Maybe I should skip the restaurants and stick to the food stands.) Kraken can get a bit "rattly" unless the train is full, but I've never found it "rough." I think it's one of the best coasters in Florida and prefer it to Tampa's Kumba.

^Signs and menus are often in Japanese and English. You'll hear announcements in multiple languages, too.

Some more photos from our full day at Tokyo Disneyland. Clever segue, eh? Always drink official Tokyo Disney Water. I hear it comes from Lost River Delta. Yes, this happened, but I don’t remember on which day. Perhaps I've blocked this evil memory! They have a really nice station, and you can check your luggage. Elsa, Anna, and Olaf just lettin’ it go. You see, Mickey! The Three Caballeros are a Donald "thing"--not your "thing"! Even Moana is here. I like how they’re working the Disney characters into the Small World rides. We had a few minutes to kill before we could use our Monsters, Inc. Fast Pass. How to pass the time? Perhaps we could buy a personalized Star Wars name tag. Aw, cutest widdle Darth Vader ever finds your lack of faith disturbing. He'll disintegrate you from his adorable bubble ship. The Monsters, Inc. queue reminds me a bit of the queue for Dinosaur at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Don’t forget your Panasonic flashlights! I like this ride a lot, even if the vehicles are a bit cramped. Don’t screw with Roz. It would be quite unseemly. Even monsters can get hurt. And a hurt monster is an unhappy monster who will eat you. We headed out to grab lunch. . . . . . when we stumbled over a 35 Happiest Celebration. The dancers were dressed as janitors, and they were really good. Yes, Walt Disney interviews potential cast members here--from beyond the grave! We had lunch at the Ikspiari Outback, then spent some time in the Disney Store. If Elissa had a vegetable garden. I think we had a Big Thunder Fast Pass, . . . . . . which was fortunate. Enjoy the Rivers of America. In Japan. I’m going to end this here and move on the park-hopping days later (with some night photos--well if they don’t look like crap). See you later.

The Most Magical Kingdom of Them All: Tokyo Disneyland One little thing I forgot to mention last time was that this visit marks the second time I’ve been at Tokyo Disney with TPR during some sort of “anniversary” event. This year it’s the . . . . . . which I presume means this is the resort’s “35th anniversary.” Well, I was last here with TPR in 2013, and that was the 30th anniversary, so, let’s see, do the math . . . yep--35th anniversary. Tokyo Disneyland is the best of Disney’s “Magic Kingdoms,” which immediately puts it in the top two of theme parks worldwide. It was modeled after the park in Florida, but there are some notable differences, such as: 1. There’s no Liberty Square, so the Haunted Mansion is located in Fantasyland (Splash Mountain, is located just behind the Mansion). 2. Their Winnie the Pooh dark ride is a big step up from other versions, thanks to a trackless ride system, full animatronics (not just statues and cutouts), and just a higher general level of fun. (People who hate that “silly old bear” love this ride.) 3. Space Mountain is a clone of the California version. 4. The International Bazaar, their “Main Street,” is enclosed under a canopy (a very nice feature in a country where it rains quite bit). 5. This is no knock against the customer service at the Florida park, but TDL reaches their level, then takes it a step or two higher. Hurry up! The Monorail is almost here! “The ring came off my pudding can! Take my penknife, my good man.” I guarantee that you will be happy at least 35 times/day at Tokyo Disneyland. Most likely more. Just in case you missed this earlier, it’s the “35 Happiest Celebration.” Looks a lot like you’re in Florida here. Hmm--appears to be a mite busy today. This will siphon off some of that crowd. The dude with the black pack on his chest looks worried. Maybe he’s allergic to bee stings. Well, if you’re gonna have a lovely garden, you’re gonna need bees. Since we rode this first thing, the wait was fairly short. “A story about Winnie the Pooh, and how, in his selfish lust for honey, he invoked Satan to raise a storm that nearly destroyed the 100 Acre Wood. I love that story!” “I say, jolly fun shooting the rapids while standing on a bear butt, eh wot?” “Oh, bother! I never should’ve drawn that pentagram in Eeyore’s blood.” “Damn you, Pooh! You’ve doomed us all!" Thus did the Gates of Hell open . . . . . . and chaos was vomited forth! Welcome to the Ninth Circle of Pooh Corner Gift Shop. Dear USA: Please note how neatly the Japanese line up their strollers and learn from their example. Thank you. Nearly time for our Space Mountain Fast Passes. Note how close DisneySea is to Disneyland, even though the park’s entrances are so far apart. Sorry, folks, but Coca Cola now owns the galaxy. This door is for Pepsi drinkers. It leads to the icy vacuum of SPACE! Making Space Coke is really high tech. It is no less crowded now. Thought you should know. Looks like the 999 Happy Haunts are doing a little sprucing up. No more Fast Passes left, so the queue winds through here. But it’s a pretty fast-moving line. “Have a drink. Our fresh spring water tastes likes bourbon and will appear once you sign over your soul!” Hmm--I think this retaining wall needs some work. I’m surprised the homeowners association hasn’t fined them for this. Aw, poor Fluffy! That’s odd. I thought Fluffy ate Skimmer. Such a cozy little room--from which there is no way out! I want these light fixtures for my house. According to the “Ghost Hunters” app on my phone, there are absolutely no ghosts here . . . OH MY GOD! Stupid app. Hey, “Paul Tergyst”! Get it, guys? Come on, it’s funny! One more set of photos to come.

They seem very uptight about it in the Tower of Terror queue after the pre-show, but not anywhere else. Why, I have no idea.