Hilltopper39

Don't forget to tell him/her about Skyline, the cheese coneys will get em every time...........

The theater addition to Soarin will do wonders for the capacity of that attraction and the park in general, and I'm also in the camp of I like it but don't like it enough to wait in line for over an hour for it. It is amazing how popular it has become, even several years now after being open I don't think it ever has a line under 60 minutes and over 120 minutes is pretty common. I was looking at some aerial construction photos the other day and the way the third theater is oriented perpendicular to half of the existing ride building it's almost like they're purposely constructing it so they can add a 4th later if they wanted to. Even with the third theater I wouldn't be surprised to see Soarin continue to have long lines.

Carolina I thought looked great. 2nd half they went into cruise control and it almost cost them, but there was no question they were in control. I wasn't sold on the Pats. Fumble and Andy Reid's inability to coach a hurry up offense were the difference. They didn't dominate---did just enough. I will agree that it is just so hard to doubt them at this point because they always seem to find a way to win, but just watching the film won't make you go "wow!" Yeah , they didn't dominate per se, but they did have a 2 score lead most of the game. They kind of quietly coasted through the second half, I was looking at some game stats this morning and didn't realize they only had possession for 22 minutes and ran 27 fewer plays than KC. And I still don't think they have fully unleashed Gronk, mostly because they haven't needed to. He's probably the one offensive weapon left in the playoffs for all teams that nobody has an answer for. They certainly have some holes in their game but as long as he's healthy and Brady is upright I feel like they can beat anyone. The early line for that game is NE -3 on the road at Denver. That's probably about where it should be, but I've got a feeling a lot of money will come in on Denver and that line will drop down to -1.5 or -2, which might be exactly what Vegas wants......

Well we don't have to worry about that team making the Superbowl anytime soon..... and yes those are bad but I don't think they're as bad as Denver's and the two tone helmet thing does look slightly better in person. Denver's pants look like some high school team from the late 90's with that side leg swoop thing, and that shade of orange is hideous, almost Tennessee Vol level bad but not quite. Peyton must feel right at home.....

Forgive me for asking, I read the press release but didn't notice anything mentioned, but who the heck is Darren brown other than a master illusionist? Is this like the British equivalent of David Blaine: the ride?

Has there been and updates recently on the Frozen ride or the Soarin expansion/overlay/renovation? I know both of those projects were scheduled to open in 2016 but I never heard a date or general time of year for either.

Yeah I'd love to see Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald win a Superbowl, both of those guys have been class acts for a long time and deserve a win like that in their career. With that being said Carolina and New England both looked really good this weekend. I think the Carolina Arizona game will be a classic and really don't know who to pick there but I kind of get a feeling that New England wins by a touchdown. Peyton just doesn't seem to be the same player he once was and Brady is better than ever. As good as that Denver's defense has been playing when New England is healthy they're really tough to defend. Then again if the Superbowl is Denver vs Carolina it will be the first time in league history that the two worst uniforms in the NFL are in a Superbowl, so hopefully we can avoid that.

I love the idea of building a family coaster along side of the new thrill ride. I thought that was a great idea way back in the day when Port Aventura did that with Tomahawk along Stampede but since then this is the first of my knowledge where another park has done it. This whole project is just stunning, I can't wait to see this thing in action.

I think that comes down to necessity. Universal is still being aggressive in growing the parks to try and gain another day of a person's vacation. Disney can go at a slower pace because the business is already established and basically in cruise control---no need to throw extra money at a project to rush it. Yeah I totally get that, but I wonder with this project if they'll try to expedite some of the construction to minimize downtime for the attractions that have to close to facilitate it. New Fantasyland, Avatar and Carsland were kind of built "outside" the park so none of the existing attractions were effected but since the size and scope of Star Wars is causing some temporary attraction closures I wonder if they'll try to manage this project any differently. Then again it's just the riverboat, sailing ship, train, and Fantasmic so maybe it's not really that big of a deal.

^The Cabanas and the pools aren't as expensive as you would think. The first year you had to buy the whole cabana to get access to the pools as a group of like 100 or so people for $20,000 or something, but this year I think they started sell individual tickets to the pool cabanas for about $250ish a ticket, which is all inclusive food and beverage. The non pool cabanas (the pools are really small anyways) are like $175 and those are pretty sweet. Covered air conditioned cabanas with nice couches and tvs (with Redzone and other NFL games playing) right on the upper endzone deck with all inclusive food and alcohol for $175 is a pretty nice way to experience a game. Everbank Field Cabana

I love Dueling Dragons and think it was a world class attraction in it's original form, even without the dueling aspect it's still a great coaster but it does kind of get lost in the shuffle back where it is now. It's funny how Dragons never gained the same kind of popularity that Hulk did, even before Potterland opened, and it never seemed to be featured as prominently in any of Universals advertising or promotional material. I don't know if it's the Hulk superhero themeing or the location right at the front of the park over the water that makes it kind of a focal point and an icon of the park compared to Dragons being tucked away back in a corner, but for two rides that are a fairly similar level of experience one is considerably more popular than the other. I guess at Busch Gardens Montu has always been more popular than Kumba so maybe that location really has a something to do with it. With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if the ride was scrapped (or relocated) in the near future to free up some prime real estate inside of that section of the park.

I think you said why right there. It's a lot of people's favorite attraction and one that's pretty iconic to that property so it's probably worth keeping and maintaining even if it's at roughly the same cost of a new attraction. Besides they are building new attractions at the same time, one in IOA and two in the Studios.

I've been wondering if WDW will ever start to incorporate the Magic Bands into the bus transportation system. They know where you are, they could know how many people are at each bus stop and how long they've been there, and they kind of know where you are going based on fastpass reservations. Seems like the technology could have the ability to improve that particular aspect of operation a little bit, but who knows Cars Land took three years, being built in a parking lot. This land has to move a river, and a train, greenery, backstage buildings, and utilities that supported those buildings. And THEN gets to start buildings. I'm sure they don't want to drag their feet, but there really is no easy way to tell. We'll just have to wait till they announce. .It has amazed me recently how fast Universal has managed to get attractions off the ground, they built London in what 18 months? I'm sure Disney could deliver their attractions quicker if they wanted to but what's the rush I guess.

Yeah, I can't imagine what tickets will be selling for in that market in a new billion dollar stadium, yikes. One nice thing about Jacksonville, our football team might be mediocre but the stadium is great and the tickets are cheap! We had to pass on season tickets this year with the little one but plan on renewing next season, none of that seat licensing nonsense down here!

Yeah, the Bengals game got a little out of control although I will say Porter had no business being on the field so I kind for feel bad for Pacman getting a penalty for mixin it up with him. Okay I don't really feel bad for Pacman, but you get my point Porter shouldn't have been out there and certainly played a part in the outcome of the game as a coach, which shouldn't be the case. I did feel bad for the Vikings, that's a kick you have to make but ya it's still a terrible way to lose. I didn't notice any activity in this thread prior to the start of the playoffs but I'm surprised so many people had so much confidence in the Steelers, even before the Roethlisberger injury. I mean I get that they're dangerous offensively but they did lose to a bad Baltimore team 2 weeks ago and were really pretty mediocre all season, backing into the playoffs with a Jets loss. Also no Leveon Bell no DeAngelo Williams was a red flag to me, even though they did run the ball well against the Bengals. This weekend should be interesting, you would think New England, Arizona, and Denver would all be heavily favored but we're talking about Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, and a team that has won 11 straight being underdogs. I still think New England is the team to beat in the AFC especially since Edelman, Amendola, and Vollmer are healthy this week, but we will. Seattle @ Carolina, who knows there, as long as Russell Wilson is one the field they're in the game but I think I like Carolina at home, this feels like special year for them. Patriots Broncos AFC Panthers Cardinals NFC Patriots Cardinals Superbowl those are my predictions.

Err, with Manta being like 5-10 minutes away, I'd prefer a different type of coaster. With manta being 5-10 minutes away I'd prefer a dinosaur themed flyer with a wicked cool custom layout, but make it a wing coaster, ya happy now?

This thing is looking great, I'd love to see something similar shoehorned into the Jurassic park section in Orlando.

Reading through the Chuck's Prime Dark Ride thread I couldn't help but wonder what happened to the project at Wild Bill's? Did the place ever open to the public? If not is that still in the works at some point?

Yeah I get what you all are saying and I think a smaller lower priced park would do great in Orlando I just hope they build a full fledged "smaller" lower priced water park and not just throw in a few slides with a pool for the sake of having a water park option. I guess the other thing I was thinking was that a lot of resorts and hotels in the Orlando market now have really nice pool areas with water slides and lazy rivers and splash pads and stuff that kind of fill that niche in a way, it's not just the major Disney properties anymore. The old water park concept plans from Fun Spot looked like a great "smaller" water park option with some really unique slide complexes and all, but this recent concept art it didn't look like much more than a typical resort complex squeezed into the rides expansion. Again I know concept art is just concept art and it's all subject to change but I hope if they are going to add a water park section they do it right. I just looked up Watermania on 192 and yeah I don't remember that place at all. The more I think about it Wet N Wild will have a million visitors per year up until the day it closes so there is certainly a market there, I just hope what Fun Spot builds capitalizes on that market and doesn't get lost in the mix.

I guess the water park is the only part of the plans that's a bit puzzling to me, that plot of land in the concept art and on the map is a bit small and it seems like there are plenty of great water parks in town so I'm not sure how that fits into the model of what Fun Spot is now as a place you kind of stop into for a few hours but don't spend a full day at. Then again with Wet n Wild closing maybe there is a place for something like that. I'm sure Volcano Falls or whatever it's called will be priced higher such that it's included in the overall Universal Resort pricing structure so maybe there is a market for a smaller more affordable park option.

I'm not even going to begin to ask what is and is not what kind of coaster/attraction since it's just concept art but from the look of things it appears that they're planning to expand into the vacant lot across the road from the existing parking lot. Should be interesting, I like Fun Spot but have honestly only been a handful of times since it's been opened, but something new would certainly get me back through the gates again.

Yeah I've ridden a few coasters in my ride op days with lap bars nearly all the way up and it really is terrifying no matter if you really need them or not. I still remember getting really freaked out on a Pinfari Looping star, yeah you won't "fall out" but it was far from a pleasant ride, even though most Looping Stars with restraints are far from peasant rides. Heck Splash Mountain still gets me a little more nervous than it should after all these years dropping into the brier patch without a lap bar.

^Krampus: The Ride, coming to a park near you. And by near you I mean if you live in China....

I remember riding Hades at night in one of it's first few seasons (when it was still good) and that ride was insane at night. The tunnel under the parking lot is dark during the day but at night that thing feels like you are in a cave or something.

They have a Mako preview set up in the Sharks exhibit and the video playing there has some really cool music that certainly sounds like it was produced specifically for the video for this attraction. I know nothing about that industry and how stuff like that gets produced (or how much it cost) but I wouldn't be surprised if that audio were used on the ride as well.