BlahBlahson

It is when you have more media power than God. No literally.

Whether or not Disney is competing with Universal, Universal sure thinks they are. And they will continue to pour money into the resort to do so in the near term. Anyway, back to Epcot: Maelstrom was a very poor ride, the Frozen attraction is a slam dunk or Disney suits wouldn't have put it on the front burner. Personally I'm expecting a pretty good ride, maybe a little more fun than UTSJOTLM but in the same vein, but with wait times of about 80-100 minutes on a normal day or solely a FP+ attraction, so I'll probably ride it very little. I don't think this re-do will be as interesting as Star Tours or Test Track, or an Imax'd Soarin Over the World could be. Probably just standard princess stuff with 1 or 2 must-see effects, and lots of people satisfied.

If peeps haven't heard, Toy Story Mania is currently testing as the first Fastpass+ only attraction. Just evolution, Man.

Europa is literally a comparably themed World Showcase+equal or better versions of the major Magic Kingdom attractions+BGW's landscaping and scenery+about 8 additional coasters and 20 additional rides in one park+impeccable operations. For anyone debating on going, YOU HAVE TO GO. I remember back in 2012 when I first moved to Florida and had Europa-level expectations for the parks here only to find that none of them can even touch the same tier 1 that Europa is in. They stole all of of Disney's best ideas, improved them, added some German engineering, and topped it with massive continual reinvestment. It is worth 2 full days.

They could always just not do fireworks from that location...but given the way the current buildings are set up to face the park and the infrastructure in place back there, I wouldn't count on an expansion back there for 20 years. They do have LOTS of room behind the Speedway/Space Mountain, and even more behind Big Thunder Mountain. Maybe something after Pixar, Frozen, and Avatar reach the end of their marketing cycle in 2022 or so.

Tips: -Super Cheap shuttles from the Pigeon Forge Transportation hub, 50 cents a ride. Cheaper than Parking in the lot, May not run before park opening though. -Other Park things not to miss: Mountain Slidewinder unless it is waaay too cold, The Barnstormer, "Skillet Food", Cinnamon Bread on the upper level of the Grist Mill. The Bald Eagle sanctuary near Blazing Fury, the Veggie Coaster credit, and the kiddie Car ride. And the dolly museum if you're interested. -The Smoky Mountain Alpine Coaster is also very fun, worth a stop if you have time. I also highly recommend the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant (Apple Barn) just outside of Pigeon Forge. Also, Nature>any of the mini golfs or Go Karts.

For me LEDs are one of those "Quantum Leap" solutions, like Penicillin, the Wheel, or Youtube. Ones where adoption is obvious and no one should look back. I'm personally rooting for a solution like these for Batteries, or Water Purification, or the Political Donation system.

^Just from walking through the mazes this year, I've seen people told at the entrance to put their cameras away. That doesn't mean videos won't surface anyway. Robb surely did his officially as is the policy of this website. From working last year at HHN as an attractions attendant, I can say it is very difficult to police all the cameras and cell phones (probably 1 in 60 guests has theirs out, seriously), and on busy nights the endless groups of smokers are impossible to curtail. At the Bill and Ted show they are very strict about cameras due to all the celebrities and media parodied in the show.

I'm glad to see new stuff happening, it speaks to the brand power that the Disney World parks are the only ones in the world that can easily make it 10 years between ride additions. Maybe I'll get an annual pass in 2018.

Yes, you do. Every park in the chain. But not at Universal/Legoland so beware. Source: Worked at Seaworld last year.

Yes, thanks for that info. I saw this happening around 6:40PM tonight and was confused why Diagon Alley was open. Very interesting. Side Note...Walking Dead did not have it tonight, the scareactors were much more in sync and in your face on preview night. AVP or Halloween are the best houses this year. The Bill and Ted show is great, even better a second time around when the impressions make more sense.

They sell them in various places through the event.

There's nothing wrong with the new scheme, it's just that the old one was so bizzare, gaudy and awesomely bad. A Preying Mantis Rollercoaster? Yellow/Red/Purple? I feel like the ride is going from an oddity, to expected. Hopefully, there will be surrounding theming that adds some character to the new ride, the old ride didn't have anything in that category.

^That "floating heads" scene is not represented in this year's maze.

This announcement really doesn't move the needle for me. The minor upgrades between a Stand Up and Floorless B&M are offset with a weaker name and the change from shocking to generic color scheme. I hope to see some cool theming improvements when it opens.

Just got back from the preview...I focused on the houses and did all 8, but missed Bill and Ted. Next time. No real spoilers: Walking Dead is this year's OMFG can't miss it house. I thought it was absolutely bonkers for many reasons. And I have never watched or been interested in that show. AVP and Halloween are everything you would want them to be, a ton of detail in each. I thought Dollhouse was exceptional, very creative scareactor choices and scenes there. Giggles of Gore is also a solid house with some interactive moments. Roanoke Cannibal Colony and Dusk Til Dawn both seemed a little underpowered other than some awesome set-pieces in Dusk. Dracula unfortunately just wasn't very good in two trips through, I hope to see that one improve a lot. As far as lines it looked like the major IPs Walking Dead and AVP were bringing in the biggest crowd. Overall maybe a tiny bit more uneven than 2013, but real scarezones are back too and that's a big plus! Enjoyed the event as always. It wasn't even opening night so the event will improve in quality as it goes along.

They could expand the IP if they needed to. There is space between Norway and Mexico for more stuff. Currently occupied by trailers and supply trucks.

If this ride is well done, the public won't care at all about it's placement in 5 years. And honestly, I don't see how a permanent frozen land would fit DHS at all. An icy castle inside a big box building somewhere? That would really set me in the mood... MK it would make sense but New Fantasyland was just completed and the only room they really have at that park now is back behind Big Thunder or across the circus near the Auto ride. Behind new Fantasyland would require major changes to the park's tunnel entry and Fireworks shows. But a land already themed to Norway? Yep, that's a pretty good setup for a Frozen Icy Kingdom ride. Maelstrom is one of the 5 worst rides at Disney and that park needs new attractions blood as well. Plus, 2018 Avatar isn't the ONLY thing they'll have to show for the next half decade.

^^^Can we ignore this post? Thanks. No offense, just incorrect.

This is definitely going to be a massive refurb/redesign. They are planning to close the attraction for 15 months at a minimum. Consider that the Test Track re-theme only took about 7 months, The Frozen Summer Fun event was designed in 2 weeks, and they have been planning this retheme since February and it's been yellow-lighted since roughly April. Imagineering has something up their sleeves here, a retheme of the existing attraction would not take them 15 months. Also, I disagree with anyone who says the ride never had a wait. I've seen plenty of 30 minutes to an hour since I moved down here. Maelstrom was probably fourth in the pecking order of wait times after Soarin, Test Track, and Mission Space.

I can only hope that this revamp and Test Track lead to other refreshes of the rides in Epcot. Captain EO, Journey into Imagination, the China and Canada Movies, Energy Adventure, and Soarin' could all use enhanced effects or a new overlay. Or maybe just maybe a totally new attraction at DHS, the Waterparks, or Epcot. Heaven Forbid.

Kumba is not rough in the slightest bit. Do not trust anyone who says it is for any opinions about rollercoasters. The ride is easily my favorite non-hyper B&M, it's fast throughout the ride, it looks awesome blending in to its environment, and the Zero-G is perfect.

^If you try to do both parks in one day, and try to do HHN on opening night, you will be extremely rushed all day to fit everything in to limited hours. It could be a busier daytime than the others in September with Annual pass holders and Frequent fear guests arriving early. Even with Express pass you will not see everything or rerides. It depends on what all you want to see. HHN express queues are empty from 6:30-7:30 and then from 11:30-Close. It's those middle, peak hours when where the houses literally cannot handle more than 1 person every 3 seconds, the lines stack up in both queues and the ratio is like 3:1 express guests.

HHN does get a bit more crowded each year, since word of mouth and press continues to spread while the event maintains its quality. But it doesn't sell out but MAYBE 1 or 2 nights a year, and that only happens on the night of. If you buy tickets beforehand, no problems. Walking Dead could have insane crazy waits this year. Its entrance is near the front of the park, people will see it on the way in and the way out. I wouldn't be surprised if it posts at 3.5 or 4 hours at some point this season (also wouldn't be surprised if it's nothing like that, people might be tired of that IP or visited "the walking dead house" last year). HHN functions like a crowd sandwich, on any typical night the hour of 6-7 waits will be really short, then 7:30-11:30 everything gets really busy with posted waits peaking between 8-10, and any time after midnight waits go down dramatically and become walk-on at 1:15 AM. The Non-IP houses down the kidzone pathways will be missed by many guests this year, I would imagine those two will have the shortest overall waits. Rockit, Despicable, and Transformers are just as busy during the event as the daytime. Rockit gets really long actually. Last year Peak Saturdays were actually not bad and maybe a little better than Peak Fridays, due to the difference it cost to attend and no Frequent Fear on Saturdays. Wednesdays and Sundays and the November dates are the most dead. All of this is anecdotal from me working for last year's Afterlife:Death's Vengeance house, and going around my few nights off or after shifts.

Advice: 1. The whole park is effectively one big circle so if you are at a ride that you like, you may want to go again as it is tough to backtrack for everything. 2. Cheetah Hunt is the only coaster that generates any sort of a line, 20-45 minutes in the off season. The water rides in the afternoon are the longest waits in the park. 3. Kangaroo and Tiger Exhibits are amazing. Some other good ones but those are can't-miss. 4. Best food is either the Smokehouse or either option in Pantopia.