jray21

There was an update just a few days ago. It could've been included in that. I wish they would allow us to take off the lights for all the houses of one type, instead of having to do each house individually.

I just wish this stupid thing would be done. It's amazing this is still going on, and still virtually at the same place.

They also have some great food, especially for a SF park!

Knowing how Disney works, they will definitely use more than just the wristband and ticket. There are plenty of WDW fanboys that would demand a market for different types of RFID.

Maybe it's their ode to old Test Track. Like the 3 busts they left behind from Country Bear at Disneyland.

Good luck! I'll be behind you....way behind you. I'm in corral D, and hoping to get around 4:30-5. As long as I stay injury free the next few days this will be my first Goofy Challenge where I'm not injured! I ran the full a while back and got 4:29 so I'm hoping that with all the running I've done, and being injury free, I could do that this time around. I'm really hoping to get to 2 hours for the half (sometime this year, not at the Goofy though). I am definitely up for a TPR meet-up next year. I never heard about the 20 mile special entertainment. Can't wait to see what it is, but I hope it's not something really cool that I'll want to stop for!

You did an amazing job in 2012! I'm really really jealous of all your roadfood adventures. The doughnuts looked really good, and I liked the different flavors like orange and peanut butter. We tend to just got the normal ones here. Doughnuts are definitely my top five food. Can't wait to see more in 2013

^ or go the rich kids house that had the entire set of the Encyclopedia Brittanica!

That ride really looks like it will be amazing. A lot bigger than I had imagined as well. Can't wait for 2014!

^Some restaurants still sold-out, and the popular ones sometimes had waits for over an hour. Attendance since 2005 is estimated to be up by about 8 million people, and the number of on-property rooms have increased by over 1700 since 2007! I'm pretty sure that has more of an effect on availability than the fact that they allow reservations.

Some of my own personal feelings on some mentioned concerns. Restraunt Availability - Making reservations isn't some new concept. If I'm going to New York, I would never expect to just walk up to Gordon Ramsey's, Wolgang Puck's, or any other popular restaurant and expect availability. Some of those places are booked up to a year in advance. People who think they can visit the worlds most popular vacation destination and just walk up and get a seat at the most popular restaurants aren't living in the real world. This coming weekend is the marathon. Guess what, all the Italian restaurants are fully booked, as is Be Our Guest. If I decided not to check earlier for availability that's my fault. There's no secret code or handshake to get reservations. You just have to book early. Foreign Visitors - When I was going to visit Europe I did my research and found out that the Capitol One Master Card had the best exchange rate. It was actually cheaper to use my credit card than go to my bank and exchange for cash. It may take some research, but when a foreigner visits the US they will have to exchange their money somehow, and some places require the use a credit card. If they do the research, they can find a low cost solution. Fast Passes - I highly doubt they would allow all Fast Passes to be distributed before the park is even open. That wouldn't allow people to be 'spontaneous' as Disney said they keep in mind. But even if they did, there will still be other rides available. Just because one ride doesn't have a Fastpass available doesn't mean you can't ride it. There are still single rider lines at a lot of the rides, and if it's that important to you then wait in the long line, or spend the extra money to stay on site! Purchasing - For the past few years they haven't even required you to sign for anything under $30 for a credit card, so I don't see how the $50 limit with no PIN is that different. I sign the back of my credit cards, and also write "SEE ID," but only about 1 in 10 clerks even ask to see my ID. I'm sure they will have some fraud protections in place (I'm kinda sure that this has crossed their minds). Also, my current debit card already has an RFID, when I'm in Japan my Suica card has RFID, and many other things have them in there. A responsible person would know that they can be cloned, and will put them in an RFID blocking wallet. It's like anything else in this world, if you don't pay attention you will be a target for fraud. Planning - I've never been on a vacation where I didn't have to do extensive planning. If you're spending a massive amount of money, and not willing to do the research you will end up getting burned. With all the information available on the internet there really is no excuse on why you can't do some research. Especially for a place like Disney World, where there is so much information available. I found TPR while trying to find information about Japan theme parks. AP's - It's amazing how entitled some AP holders feel. I have a Premier Pass, and just the fact that I can get into any Disney park in the US is a massive deal in itself! The food/room/merchandise discounts are a nice bonus, but the pass itself is a huge deal. Have you ever thought about why they even offer AP discounts? It's because most visit a lot and don't spend anything! They end up using a ton of the operational budget, but don't give anything back. So they offer discounts to try and get you to spend more money. Look at it this way. The couple who just spent every single day of 2012 at Disneyland ended up being a little marketing event for Disney, but look at the costs involved. They paid approximately $1.78 a day to visit Disneyland. It doesn't take a genius to see how much Disney is losing on that every day. Let's say they spent $40 a day a the park. That would be $14,600 total. Added together that's about $41.78 per day they spent. Still a great deal. Now look at a traditional guest. Even with the best deal as of today (5-day park hopper special price of $260) if extended throughout the year it would equal $18,980! That's without food or merchandise! Even if I add in just $20 a day for food and merchandise (Regular guests pay usually pay way more than AP holders), the total spent per day is approximately $72. Compare that to the average of $41.78 and you can see why they care more about non-AP guests. Yes, I'm absolutely aware that going everyday is the extreme, but it is actually what you paid for! It is absolutely true that AP holders are cheaper than non-AP holders. I mean, that is exactly why anyone would get an AP, to get the same amount of days for less money. By virtue of getting an AP, we are cheap! I really can't stand a lot of AP holders (Just a general rant, not directed to anyone in particular). On-Site versus Off-Site - I can get a hotel room for about $35 in the Disney area. The equivalent at Disney is the All-Stars for approximately $75. If I'm willing to spend extra money, I should definitely get more out of it. For an additional $30 some odd dollars a day I can get up to 3-4 hours extra in the park, more Fastpasses, free transportation to/from the airport, and free transportation around the park! That's a great deal. It's a balance that you have to pick and chose. Would you rather have a better hotel without any benefits, or, would you rather have a lesser hotel with a bunch of benefits for the same price. I don't see how this is any different than everything else we purchase in our lives. Personal Information - I really don't care if they track everything about me. It's private property, they can do what they want. They already track my purchases, they can see everything I do because they have cameras, and they know what things I like to do. Having it consolidated in one card doesn't bother me one bit. In fact, I'm all for it! They will get better information that they can use to bring more foods that I like, more rides that I like, better queues, better employee coverage, and more! If you're scared of people tracking you, you shouldn't go to Disney to begin with. Also, one thing I think could be a benefit is for lost kids. Imagine how easy it could be to locate the parents of lost kids. When a cast member finds a kid, they can scan their location and when the parents scan their's they can instantly know the whereabouts of their kids. Well that's my 'rant' for now

Waiting that long for Season Pass processing is insane, but sadly, not surprising for SFMM. There really is no excuse for that.

Great update. Love the look of the haunted house!

Looks amazing! Really coming along great!

I absolutely love this thread. I love the maps from all over the world and all the TPR branded stuff. I really don't know any other website that does this. I'd hate to see the yearly shipping fees for TPR!

Yes, it's obvious how terrible this picture compared to more recent ones Your bad camera pictures are still better than my best camera pictures! Great shot.

Another great update, especially the fish at the end. It looked really good! I could only imagine how big the 'prizes' would be coming out of that!

^That is the one ride in the I cannot for the life of me ride with my hands up the entire time. I swear that my frame is the perfect shape/size to be launched right out of the car.

Now if we can just get this somehow to apply to Kinder Surprises as well!

Hotel food - Any hotel in Europe that offers Nutella and chocolate sprinkles is awesome in my book! I don't like Chipotle at all, and I've never been to Moe's. Mexican food wise, I absolutely love the shredded beef quesadilla from Jimboy's. I also love Panda Express. I don't know what it is about that place, but I love it. I also wish there were more Fazolli's around. We had one in Austin, TX, and really liked it.

March 2012 because Amy tore her ACL and Meniscus at KidTums Birthday Party! When was the last time you went to a musical?

Yes. Are you doing any TPR trips in 2013?

X's first drop in the front row scared me a ton, as did all the rides on the Stratosphere.

Positive - Moonsault Scramble at Fuji-Q Highlands, 6.2 G's! Negative - Superman: Escape From Krypton, El Toro, and that terrible pothole on Rampage at Alabama Adventure all felt like they had the most. Lateral - Any Wild Mouse, and Ghost Rider is pretty bad.

Didn't realize that ride was THE mysterious yellow B&M. What a great view!