StuckInSD

Ah, how I'll miss watching people getting splashed by Shamu's floating "chunks" as she zooms past. You win this time, PETA. While I do believe this is the best choice in the long run, I can't help but think that this will also give more leverage to the animal rights extremists and unchecked eco-lobbyists in Sacramento. I feel as though Blackfish and other anti-zoological propaganda will ultimately be used as their "proof" that they're right, and I sincerely hope that SeaWorld is aware of this. And though this helps, I just can't shake this feeling that this might only be the beginning of a long stand-off between SeaWorld and the many rampant lobbies and groups wanting to take them down. Only time will tell, I guess. Anyways, the partnerships are definitely interesting, and I think those rescue/conservation-themed rides will be great for burying the hatchet with skeptics, though I have no idea where they'd put them (given the space, I think it's inevitable that something is gonna be torn down). Dunno how an onsite hotel will work out, but if it's anything like what the LEGOLAND Hotel was up north, then they've got a winning strategy on their hands. I can see why you Dollywood/SDC guys loved Manby so much. Huh. Guess now I have no choice but to hit the park sometime before 2016. For nostalgia's sake.

It'd make sense to move Big Thunder Ranch, given that there's not much going on there besides the BBQ and a (sorta) petting zoo. But wouldn't it be odd for a Star Wars land to be on the opposite side of the park from Star Tours? Though if that does happen, I think it's safe to say that Star Tours would be (re)moved. Also, Star Wars Land is gonna be 14 acres. To put that into perspective, Cars Land was 12 acres, and that takes up a sizable portion of area in DCA. My shot in the dark is that with the recent purchase of that facility north of the Pumbaa parking lot, and their current intentions on using the existing structure, they could be moving some backstage operations over there, leaving some vacant buildings no one will probably miss. Again, just a shot in the dark. But for all we know, anything could happen. This really has me excited, but also curious as to how this plays out, since this is by no means a "small" expansion. Guess we'll have to wait and see...

Huh. And here I was thinking that SeaWorld was still in a hole. This is great news! Screamscape has it rumored to be built by Mack and with a launch similar to Manta over here in California, but with a much larger layout. Now, knowing that Mack hasn't built anything at or near 200 ft. tall, I'm taking this with a grain of salt. Now a B&M out-and-back around where Kraken is looks very likely (although I could also see it straddling around the entrance like Fury). If that back location is being used, I could see Shark Encounter interacting/being incorporated into the ride's theming (like what happened with the Forbidden Reef over here). And if in the front, I could also see a renovated entrance to pair along with it. B&M does have the more reliable rides and would be a great addition to any park, but I honestly find it hard to see one grabbing much attention in Orlando. There's already 5 top-quality B&Ms within city limits, and SeaWorld has two of them. Now if this rumored B&M were anywhere else in the world I think it would grab everyone's attention, but Orlando has big rides and attractions being built like this every year. It's gotta be hard-to-miss, it's gotta stick out, and given B&M's latest developments, it's gonna have the appeal to draw people in, but will it have the ride experience to keep them coming back? I'm hoping that if it is a B&M that it will drum up the crowds SeaWorld needs but as of right now, I'm not so certain. I honestly think I see something like Skyrush being installed, possibly flying over the lagoon around Sky Tower. It reaches the same height as listed and gives an awesome ride- something that I know will get people coming back. I would never think of something like this with the old management, but now with Mr. Manby helming the parks, I can really see this happening. Though, this could only happen if Seaport Theater was torn down to make way, and I doubt that's going anywhere anytime soon.

I've seen this proposed for San Diego as well, but this design has some French Quarter flair on the top deck, which is a cool, personal touch. I know there's at least one of these types of towers in Asia (can't quite recall which country it was, someone rode one in their TPR), but I've yet to see one successfully go up in the US. Regardless, it'd be awesome if it goes through!

Ah yes, for coasters like the Hi Miler (and begrudgingly the Crazy Mouse that tends to accompany it) I'd count them as credits. Just because they travel around doesn't make them any less than a normal, stationary coaster. And seeing that I manage to have ridden only those two rides mentioned at the fairs I've been to so far (missed out on a Chance Toboggan... bummer ), it's really only the first time that they "count".

I was wondering how they'd tie in the area to Grizzly Peak, and it looks good! Now it makes me more curious to see how the Soarin' renovation turns out.

Sunset.

500+ ft. dive coaster perhaps? Let's see what happens... *grabs popcorn and waits for impending argument*

To be fair, isn't this whole resort not actually run by Disney themselves? It's very apparent in how the employees act, so the lack of effort in these canvases doesn't surprise me at all. True. Given its attendance and popularity in Europe, you'd think they'd hold themselves to higher standards. Well, themed canvasses or not, it's at least refreshing to see actual work being done. Hopefully the end result will be worth waiting through the atmosphere-breaking walls for.

Maybe they're hoping that the grey canvasses blend in with the grey sky? I doubt Disney would put up un-themed canvasses on purpose unless the work being done is gonna be quick (still doesn't explain the exposed scaffolding beneath the canvas around Space Mountain, though). What has me more surprised is the lack of actual cover-up around the Nautilus. With Finding Nemo over here at Disneyland, they had the entire site walled off from peering eyes and still kept sort of a theme to it. But in that pic, it looks like they're working on it in plain site, no cover-up whatsoever apart from the obvious, bright-white tent around it. With Phantom Manor and Dumbo also going under refurbishment, I hope this isn't the same situation over in those sections of the park. If the canvas work is this bad in Discoveryland, I can't imagine how bad it'd look in Frontierland or Fantasyland. *Speaking of Frontierland, at least their canvas was themed: Posted March 8th by ThemeParkInvestigator

The Brave Wingman and Big Titan. Not bad, though the second one sounds like a name for an Arrow hypercoaster. It still feels weird seeing BGW get a clone and even weirder that they haven't said anything about Tempesto yet... even though we can clearly see it jut out from the trees. They must have wiped out their entire PR department or something when they reformatted, because now it's just getting awkward.

Just noticed that. And it looks like it's gonna follow through the entire drop, which is awesome. That's gonna be some surprise ejector air coming down that double down. This is shaping up to be insane!

Not even Scream!'s faded fugliness can derail this beauty. The orange frame actually looks good!

^It'd be a big drop, like a cross between Splash Mountain and Jurassic Park's drop. Also, the drops on the current Pirates rides are indoors and rather small, while a true shoot-the-chute element is outdoors (like Splash Mountain). This picture should help explain what I mean:

I remember seeing that pop up somewhere before, and was/is to be themed more to the movies (personally, I think that would be pretty neat to see). Rumor has it that it might have some shoot-the-chute elements in it as well. Of course, that's just a rumor, but wouldn't that be an interesting element...