The SETGO Guys

They would be a great sponsor for Wild Arctic! Future Sponsorship? Coca-Cola is currently running a promotion called "Arctic Home" that is preserving the home of Arctic animals I think Cokes message of Conservation fits in perfectly with SeaWorld! (Plus I prefer Coca-Cola products!) Now all thats needed is for Legoland to convert to Coca-Cola.....

I was out of curiosity looking at ticket prices for the Tokyo Disney resort. While it looks like the regular tickets for one day ¥6,200 ($79 in US Dollars) is relatively simular to the price of a day at Disney here in the states, the prices for annual passes struck me as being very high. The official Tokyo Disney website lists 2 park annual passes as being ¥80,000. That converts to $1028 in US Dollars. That is much steeper than an annual pass to Disney World which comes out to $691.19 US Dollars (But you can get them for much less as I just renewed my WDW AP for about $380) Is there a reason for such steep prices at the Tokyo Disney Resort? I know the Oriental Land Company puts a lot of capital investment into the park but still, thats a pretty hefty price for an Annual Pass. Thanks! -Zach

Upgraded/Renewed my Disney Seasonal Pass to an Annual Pass. I buy everything with my own money that I earn from my work, so I'm pretty proud of myself for purchasing it on my own!

Most likely yes! I have a 8 Gig Ipod touch, and it holds a ton! I mean the movie question also depends on the quality of the movie as well (HD Movies will take up more room than a standard movie) Movie and Music files are a lot smaller than you'd think!

I took a screenshot from Google Earth and labeled it to make the reference easier. The Red Circle is the new development area. Golden Oaks (The Housing Community) and the New Four Seasons will be located in that general area. Its about a 5 minute drive to the Magic Kingdom resort area from that circle. Magic Kingdom labeled for reference

I think this is the biggest problem with Potterdump. It seems like you have to be a Potter "fan" to really appreciate it. (ok, yes, obnoxious people, please post that you're not a Potter fan but you still enjoy it...but you know what I mean.) For example, I'm not a Winnie the Pooh fan...but I *love* Pooh in Tokyo. I'm not a Star Wars fan, but I enjoy Star Tours. I'm not a Spiderman fan, but I like the attraction. People who aren't Jurassic Park fans don't need to know anything more than "Hey, there's a dinosaur" to get the attraction. With Potter, I felt completely lost and the entire land meant nothing to me. I went through it once, it didn't appeal to me, and I'm done. That's it. I personally don't have any reason to go back because I feel they designed that land for people who are casual Potter fans and up. For the random person who hasn't seen the movies or read the books, it just doesn't play well to those people, and the responses you hear from the non-Potter fans even on this forum kinda reflect that. I'm all for building a $200 million dollar ride and the equivalent expansion. But build something I can appreciate, even without having seen any of the movies. That right there is my biggest issue with the Potter lands. --Robb "It's built for the fans, not for everyone." Alvey Robb I cannot agree with you anymore! I recently interviewed Gary Goddard (For Universal alone he was essential in the creative design of Jurrasic Park, Spiderman and T2-3D To name a few). We spoke for a good 45 minutes (Still editing that interview). One thing Gary talked about was how he has worked on attractions that can cater to those "GIANT fans" of a franchise yet still appeal to any regular park guest. It really makes a difference! Personally, the first time I saw T2-3D I had not seen any Terminator films before, nor really ever heard of the franchise. Yet, I really enjoyed the show! It had a storyline that I not only understood but loved! T2-3D easily became one of my favorite attractions. The next time I saw T2-3D (a few months later) I had the opportunity to watch the films and knew what was going on. However I still had the same level of enjoyment because know I was able to get all the references. Point being, you have to have a fine balance between the fans and the GP. I have not seen any Harry Potter movies, nor have I read the books. To be honest I didn't care about HP until I learned that the main ride was going to feature a Robocoaster arm. I have not visited Potterland yet. I am very concerned however that when I do visit, while I will like the rides and shops, I won't be able to have the same level of enjoyment that I had with other rides (Such as T2-3D) It doesn't seem in Potterland that they really tell you "Hey this is what this is and this is what going on". Potterland just plops you in the middle of the movies/books and expects you to understand. That makes it hard for me as a visitor to get the full enjoyment. I really hope that Universal can incorporate more of the techniques that Gary Goddard used in his attractions to tell the stories at an equal level of enjoyment to everyone. Thats what makes a good Theme Park Attraction to me.

What if the reason more details of whatever is going to be opening in Hollywood is going to include elements from the expansion of HP in Florida? I could imagine Universal Studios Hollywood taking a bit of what Orlando has now and a bit of whatever will be expanding in Orlando. The timing of this dual announcement seems to confirm this.

This was just posted to Screamscape

Has anyone seen this video? Its of Ellen DeGeneres piloting a Jaws Boat! Its really funny.

Also, The Test Track was not designed by Disney. An outside company (In fact the same company that designed the ride system for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey) desisnged the ride system for Test Track.

I just want to point out this. Why would Universal choose to close a ride that was built on so much infrastructure and includes a lagoon when on either sides are two rather "Lackluster attractions"? I think they are going to use the water again. Wouldn't be very expensive to fill in that water, remove the existing infrastructure. I just can't see them plopping down a big warehouse in that area.

I am totally taken by surprise! Jaws was one of my favorite Universal Attractions. The ride system alone was amazing! (It was designed by Intamin and I believe only 3 were ever constructed! One in Florida, One in Japan and one was in Las Vegas) Jaws occupies a pretty large area too. I could only imagine what they would put in that area (I'm imagining another "land" simular to how Harry Potter is designed.) I'm curious as to how the decision came to close it. The ride does have very high operating costs in terms of staffing and resources (The wall of fire effect in particular is VERY expensive ) I'd also wonder (and hope) they would keep the ride system, there is a ton of infrastructure that was built for that ride and a lagoon. That being said, the Jaws area must have something special in terms of the topography that is there. (Otherwise why not just get rid of the stadium for Fear Factor or even Disaster) I've heard Rumors that Universal may be in Talks with Peter Jackson for his new Lord of The Rings/The Hobbit series. Just a Rumor. R.I.P Jaws- You will be missed I'll miss these the most!

Both videos are great! I really hope to one day get a chance to ride Olympia Looping, it looks like such an amazing ride!

Glad that you enjoyed Legoland. It looks like have added more theming to the park! (Which is always good to see) I agree its a great kids park. Unfortunately Legoland is always going to be compared to Disney/Universal/Busch because of the proximity. In your opinion do you think the value of "enjoyment" matched the (rather steep) admission cost?

I'm surprised, and yet not surprised. It looks like a great addition to the park, I can't wait to see video from it. Haven't heard to much about the queue, I really want to hear more about that part of the experience. It looks very well done.

You've mentioned this in your trip reports on Dollywood before. Is it regular for the rides to be walk ons at Dollywood? Or does this only occur during special events? If I was to ever plan a trip out to Dollywood those days seem ideal to go.

Here is my park. I attached a few screenshots. Screenshot 1.BMP Final Product Schwarzkopf Summit.BMP The Mountain Area is called Schwarzkopf Summit. It features a snow capped peak and rides that snake through the forest. Village Gardens Public Works Area.BMP This area is home to "The Farm" and the Village Gardens public works, where several "Irrigation" channels wind among the plants. Dark Forest.BMP The other Forest Finish Challange.BMP Oh yeah, I beat the Challenge at some point Park Download link here. http://www.themeparkreview.com/game_exchange/track.php?id=2475

We haven't seen the ride yet. But the Elevators may have been added due to space restraints. It is a screen based attraction. Depending on how that section of the ride works, the elevator may not even be needed, and the ride system in Florida would be able to be modified from that point. Wild speculation. Obviously, I don't have access to the technical plans. I'm sure Universal has already been thinking of this.

So I actually made a park for the challange. I'll post pictures soon and the file. Can I submit the park before the end of october year 7? I'm in Year 6, but I'm done building everything I want to.

I am so thankful that I got that credit as a kid. I know some people in my class that work there, and it would be pretty embarrassing to have to make a credit run on that. Haven't been to Celebration Station in years though! Is it still run down?

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Ghostwood Estate at Kennywood! Its a trackless shooting ride, and even (if I recall correctly) has a section where you travel backwards for a few moments. The system for the Sally Dark Ride (Challenge of Tutankhamen) was built by the ETF Group. -One interesting thing about Challenge of Tutankhamen is the three different ending rooms the vehicle may travel through Personally I've worked on some code for guiding robots using lines in the floor autonomously (Very simular to trackless technology in the Theme parks). Sensors for the technology can get a bit expensive but the results are usually very impressive. EFT creates 2 different types of trackless vehicles This is the Vehicle for Kennywood Ghostwood Estate- http://www.etf.nl/nl/etf-ride-systems/products/mystic-mover/ This is the Vehicle for Challenge of Tutankhamen- http://www.etf.nl/nl/etf-ride-systems/products/multi-mover/

Found a really cool video today about the Marketing Campaign for Cheetah Hunt! Look out for the TPR forums which make an appearance too! Here is the description The video can be found at: http://mindclay.tv/2010/11/seaworld-parks-entertainment/

I've seen this happen before, (My family used to get two meal passes at Universal and share the food) they seem to not care. Also if dad gets a meal pass, he will go to every restaurant multiple times to get his money's worth. Personally, I like the concept, and I have used the meal pass (By myself on my own money) at BGT and Universal several times. For Six Flags to be successful with it though they need to make it an all day pass. Having a meal pass that only works (a one day pass) for a limited amount of hours (Lunch) defeats the purpose of buying it. Likewise, if I don't get the meal-pass on that visit to the park (or if I'm at Disney to eat in a real restaurant) I'll just have a snack in the park and get fast food outside the park later (Saving 10 bucks). I do like the idea of a Seasonal Meal Pass, for that I think it would be reasonable to add the hours on it. (As most of the members would most likely be pass-holders and if they were able to come eat WHENEVER for free,that might get crazy) I also do like the idea of one restaurant for Passholder members or an exclusive "club".

I think of it like this Both coaster enthusiasts and the GP will ride a coaster. The reactions are different. GP-"Boy that was a fun ride" Enthusiast-"Boy, that B&M was a bit shaky today. I think I got more airtime in the back than I usually do....." --- Its the same thing with my friends who are into baseball, everyone watches the same game, but they say- "Oh, wow that was a cool hit by (insert name here), that will raise his batting average! They might go to the worlds series." Myself-"Wow, the player hit the ball" --- Goes for any fans of any hobby.

Yep. Very fast too!