jedimaster1227

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/nsp/Metro/2012/12/07/Metro%2Bextension%2Bplanned%2Bfor%2BDisneyland/

http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2012/12/07/443234_gold-coast-news.html

http://www.ocala.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012121209897

In regards to the dragon, it has been confirmed that this was a one-time appearance (for now) but the technology will likely be used elsewhere. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the-daily-disney/os-disney-fantasyland-dragon-20121206,0,3233261.story

http://siouxcityjournal.com/warm-weather-moves-up-work-on-arnolds-park-coaster/article_7769941e-8263-56d6-8e0a-e30aeb3f7945.html

Disney Cruise Line has sent us a press release detailing its early 2014 cruise itineraries!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/11/interactive-atmosphere-entertainment-adds-to-the-experience-of-new-fantasyland-at-magic-kingdom-park/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/12/get-ready-for-laughter-and-lunacy-with-the-storybook-circus-giggle-gang-in-new-fantasyland-at-magic-kingdom-park/

On Friday I had the chance to visit the brand new Christmas Town extra ticket event at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Inspired by the success of its Busch Gardens Williamsburg counterpart, Christmas Town takes the already stellar park experience and gives it a holiday twist while retaining some of the favorite attractions available normally in the park. Let me just say that this event, like rival extra ticket events found in Central Florida will require proper time management and possibly even additional visits to see and experience it all (I know I want to go back to catch what I missed during this visit). There is simply so much to do at Christmas Town that for the price of $35-$40 (depending on advance ticket prices and annual passholder rates) is easily justified, if not proven a steal of a deal for the total value. The event offers several special entertainment offerings that are exclusive to Christmas Town. Of those offered, I was able to see three, but will definitely go back to revisit those and to see the ones I missed. Rather than list out my thoughts here, I'm going to include them in the captions for the related photos... But seriously, if you were on the fence about Christmas Town or were interested in this event, take a look because this is one of my new favorite holiday experiences for Florida! There's really so much to love, so let's begin! [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Christmas_Town_lwt0[/coastertube] Welcome to Christmas Town! From the second you enter the park you are greeted with some incredible Christmas lighting. One of the first entertainment offerings is the the Christmas Carolers at the front. Be sure to watch the video above for glimpse at their humorous holiday tunes! There's really so much to do at Christmas Town! Here's a look at the event's park map. I was truly surprised at just how much of the park is actually utilized for Christmas Town! You can get a photo with a Christmas Angel. Iconic portions of the park look even better during the Christmas Town hours of operation! Cheetah Hunt is one of the four coasters open during the event, and as always, it runs amazingly! Even better, the entire Edge of Africa section of the ride is totally unlit, so it is a totally new experience to be had! I call it, Space Cheetah! The Crossroads (Cheetah Hunt's realm) received several awesome Christmas additions including this huge tree! In addition to being open for quick service dinner during the event, the Crown Colony House serves as the second entertainment offering exclusive to Christmas Town in the form of the Carol of the Bells. Covered in stunning dancing lights (akin to the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights), the entire face of the building plays host to a two-song performance that replays every fifteen minutes for guests to enjoy. Like other extra ticket events, the park's capacity is more limited, allowing wait times for the rides to decrease significantly. In other words Cheetah Hunt was a walk on! Jingle Bell Junction, located around the entrance of Gwazi, is home to some of the more kid-friendly options in the event. Gwazi is open for business during Christmas Town, which means another chance to ride those awesome Millenium Flyers that Busch Gardens added last year! The Jingle Bell Express is a trackless children's train ride found in Jingle Bell Junction. The sheer amount of Christmas lights added to the park is amazing! Ever seen a Christmas tree made of poinsettias? Poinsettia Parkway has that covered and more! Enchanted Flamingo Valley is covered in pink lights in tribute to Florida's most well known birds. And there has to be flamingo lights in a place called Enchanted Flamingo Valley... Moving towards the back of the park we find Sesame Street: A Very Furry Christmas, a holiday update of the Sesame Street Safari of Fun also open during the event. Like the rest of the park sections involved in Christmas Town the Safari of Fun portion is well lit. What is the main attraction of this area during Christmas Town, you ask? It's to get a photo op with Bird Bird and Cookie Monster! Next on the agenda was Angels of Peace: A Christmas Journey on Ice. As with all of the ice skating shows Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has hosted over the years at the Moroccan Palace, this one truly impresses! I've never seen an ice skating show with aerial acrobatics, so this was neat to watch! The show is very modern in its approach with the perfect run time and is not overly religious, making it accessible to the entire audience (myself included). There's immense talent to be found on this stage, and this show is something of spectacle just to see the movements performed. I strongly recommend taking the time to see one of the two shows of Angels of Peace during your visit to Christmas Town! How could I resist walking back onto Cheetah Hunt for another awesome night ride? They have specialty Dippin' Dots flavors! Cheetah Hunt looks amazing as always! Busch Gardens recently added a digital sign beneath the Cheetah Hunt windcatcher tower... Which allowed us to see this... And more excitingly this! Lai-Toe-Speeeed!!! Candy Cane Lane is the path way guests can take to head towards Santa's House and Timbuktu. The Serengeti Express takes on the holiday persona of the Christmas Town Sing Along Train. Sadly we didn't have time to try this one... Much like the one at Busch Gardens Williamburg, Christmas Town features some penguins, except these ones are African Penguins! I had no idea that African Penguins even existed! Not quite what I imagined the North Pole would look like... The path to Santa's House is one of the most heavily lit sections of the park during the event. As expected, Santa Claus is a very popular man in Christmas Town. This is as close as we were able to get to Santa on this evening in order to make sure that we had time to visit Snow World, but we heard nothing but good things about the meet and greet experience. I never imagined the holidays in Timbuktu to look like this. The Desert Grill looks great! I didn't realize this until we arrived, but Scorpion is open for Christmas Town and runs incredibly as always. This Schwarzkopf looper is still very forceful, smooth and insanely fun! Club Elf can be found in Stanleyville on the way to Sheikra. Stanleyville looks even better at night thanks to these added decorations! Miracle Way is the pathway between Stanleyville and the Sesame Street Safari of Fun, and its entrance features this iconic scene. The covered pathway has been in the park forever, but the added lighting really makes it look even better! We've saved the best for last (it was actually the last thing we experienced at Christmas Town) by going to Snow World. That's right folks! This is real snow, not soap or foam, but really powder in Florida! Found in one of the covered pavilions typically used for Howl-O-Scream houses, this decent-sized venue holds my favorite aspect of Christmas Town. There's even a snow tubing course in Snow World! Check out the video above for a POV of the slide! The Floridian in me really loved being able to hold real snow in Florida! And the best news? Snow World is presented by Coca-Cola! Seriously guys, I can't rave enough about Christmas Town! There's so much to enjoy, whether this is your first time at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or your thousandth! What an incredible event this is!

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/dec/04/cowabunga-groundbreaking-ceremony-today-new-hender/

Last week, Robb and I had the chance to revisit the Universal Orlando Resort for a sneak peek at this year's Macy's Holiday Parade and Grinchmas. Along the way we were able to see just how the balloon handlers work with the huge balloons along Universal Studios Florida's narrow streets, along with getting the chance to ride Trikealoons (see below), to see an actor become a Who and to interact with the Grinch himself! On our way into the park, we couldn't help but marvel at just how much progress has been made on Transformers; The Ride since our last visit for the ride's official announcement several weeks ago. But this is why we're really here! They've modified the Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit lift hill to take on the form of the iconic Macy's Holiday Parade balloon! Meet the Trikealoon! Balloon holders have to be trained to move as a unit and work under military precision. John Piper, Vice President of Macy's Parade Studio was on hand to tell us about the history of the parade at Universal Studios Florida, now in its 11th year of performances. He was especially excited to show off this year's addition to the parade by driving one of the new Trikealoons! Santa wishes you a Happy Holiday Rip, Ride, Rockit! "It was mildly terrifying!" But we loved it! There we plenty of photo ops with the many themed characters from the show's team. Check out these costumes! But the Macy's Holiday Parade wasn't all that we were here for today... Moving into one of the soundstages, we were greeted by a rousing performance by The Outer Toons, a troupe of Who's performing the music of Manheim Steamroller as heard in the Universal retelling of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. But it was already a holiday for us thanks to a cool, refreshing Coca-Cola! Originally held outside in Suess Landing, the show's popularity called for a move indoors to allow for added seating, additional showings and a more weather-friendly show venue. Part of the day's Grinchmas presentation was to allow us to see just how a Human becomes a Whoman... First you apply the nose... The difference is instantly noticeable. We love finding out about effects makeup, so this was such a cool inside look for us! Soylent Who is noses! Next is the painting... And after some airbrushing and touch up paint, the Who is ready! Look who showed up for some mischief! If you ever get the chance to witness the Grinch, you'll quickly realize how much of a prankster he is. And he was a riot to watch! I don't know... 3D! For the elephants. And so our preview came to a close... Come check out the Macy's Holiday Parade and Grinchmas at the Universal Orlando Resort!

Having re-watched Coaster Expedition 13 for the first time in a while today (helped to make a long day better), it definitely reaffirms my hope for another installment in the series. I too was brought to TPR (way back when) because of the Coaster Expedition videos and can still know videos by the song used in them as a result of my watching those videos so much when I was younger. I love the RAW series too, especially when watching on my PS3 and HDTV, but I'd love to see more of wacky antics from TPR, especially from the last few years of trips.

http://www.wkrn.com/story/20212488/dolly-parton-says-she-still-has-plans-for-nashville

http://www.ktiv.com/story/20222147/2012/11/29/arnolds-park-amusement-park-legend-roller-coaster-is-undergoing-some-renovations

http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2012-11-30/1000-acre-adventure-park-planned-for-Charlotte-County#.ULuD_qWXKfE

http://www.whas11.com/news/local/Both-si-181692811.html

http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2012/12/02/Firm-to-invest-60M-to-restore-old-hotels-and-beach-properties.html

Cedar Point has sent us a great batch of photos from the completion of the lift hill, marked on November 30th, 2012!

So today we had the chance to check out the new Test Track, now presented by Chevrolet. The new attraction is a total overhaul aesthetically from the previous version, but it is the same physical ride experience that you knew and loved from the original. Let's just say, Disney has a winner on their hands with this one. The ride itself employs some stunning visuals that will make you wonder how they pull them off, and they really manage to transport you into the digital realm (not the Grid) where your concept vehicles are stacked up throughout the ride as you determine your SimCar's rankings in four categories: Capability, Efficiency, Responsiveness and Power. Please be warned, this report does contain some spoilers for the overall experience, so if you don't want to know any more about the ride before you can experience it for yourself, stop reading here! You enter Test Track through a heavily reworked queue that makes you totally question if there was ever anything else there before it. The new design of the queue is sleek and futuristic, but integrates the retro World of Motion logo throughout the decor, which is a great throwback for the longtime fans. You weave around the building following a new path that leads to a merge point for the eventual Fastpass and standby lines. From there you are directed into a group room where you are grouped for your Design Room experience. Moving into the next room you are able to design a vehicle in an extremely hands on system that allows for a surprising amount of customization (as you'll see below). Once done, you swipe the RFID card given to you in the previous room over a familiar looking reader (if you've been following the installation of similar readers throughout Walt Disney World) to take your design with you. You enter the loading station, which is the space most clearly reminiscent of the former version, but even so, it still looks wonderfully different. As I mentioned before, the ride path is totally the same but the experience along that track is almost entirely different. You move up past the seat belt check and into a "launch hill" of sorts with some incredibly overwhelming, awesome graphics and projection effects at work, including some not so subtle World of Motion logos prominently featured on the walls. Your SimCar turns the corner to go through the former Belgian/German blocks section which has been flattened for a smooth descent. In the "ABS off" section you race towards a digital mountain only to swerve off of the lit road (a very convincing effect) before nearly being swept away by a digital avalanche. You move toward a new mountain in the "ABS on" section, turning the corner as a bolt of lightning strikes the peak. Moving into the old Heat/Cold/Corrosive test rooms, you are scanned, aerodynamically tested (a magnificent effect there) and scanned once again for internal car testing. Into the "increase in lateral forces" you weave around the tight turns leading to the old near collision with the semi truck, all of which has been updated with laser effects and great show lighting. You turn the corner in a final "loading" of your earlier three core tests culminating in your final push for Power. The former barrier test features a great launch animation and setup that really has to be seen to justified--pictures and video don't show off just how great this is. The outdoor section is the same as it was before, save for new purple stripes on the track. You slow down and reenter the building to see your design's score as stacked against the other five designs with you before you reenter the station to exit the ride. Much of the post-show experience was not yet online during our visit, but when ready, you'll be able to produce a commercial featuring your design, as well as to be able to race your vehicles on "drive tables" via detailed projection effects. The reworked Chevrolet car showroom looks great and feels far more open, with less of a sales angle and more of a chance to take photos. The gift shop at the exit has been made slightly smaller to give the showroom more space, but it features some new merchandise for the ride as well. Take a look at the photos and video below for a better look at what all the hype is about... It is well deserved! Welcome to the new Test Track presented by Chevrolet! Inside of the first and largest part of the queue is a full model and an exploded one of the Chevrolet en-V concept vehicle. There are no crash test dummies to be found here! Power, Responsiveness, Capability and Efficiency make up the tests for a good design at the Chevrolet Design Center at Epcot. All designs start as an amorphous blob... You can catch a glimpse of the Design Center in the queue. The queue already has the new Fastpass+ readers installed at merge. Grouped and ready to go into the Design Center. The lighting really sets the mood for this new preshow experience. You have free range to start by tracing whatever design you'd like for the shape of your car, so I played around. The system then refines it... You are able to choose the width and length of the vehicle, so we made it a super stretch. You've got a good deal of freedom when choosing your design's paint scheme. You can add decals... We really played with our designs, adding some gaudy accessories and stretching the limits of the system as much as we could. Check out those Tron hood and roof pieces! Our group designed two vehicles, and this was the other one. World of Motion logo! At the loading station all six seats positions are equipped with RFID readers that link your design with your SimCar. Even though it looks familiar, it is very much different! Let's ride, shall we? The projections were a bit much for my camera to catch at these speeds but you get a sense for what is going on in the ride... Down the old German/Belgian block section... Let's race an avalanche! The old "warehouse" section of the ride looks great in the dark and really feels far less industrial and more digitally futuristic. The ride's Progress City-style model has some really amazing projection mapping effects. Laser trees! Power! The outside section of the ride is almost entirely unchanged. I've missed this view... Love the signage! The post show continues to use riders' designs for interactive elements along the exit route. Our blue super stretch lost to their white monster truck of the future... In here guests can create a video advertisement for the vehicle they designed in the preshow. While not open during our visit, these are the drive tables where guests will be able to race their designs in a projected environment. Looks neat! You can also email your design so you can take it with you after you leave Epcot! Time to check out the Chevrolet Showroom! Several of the cars on display allow for guests to take automated pictures to be emailed to them after their visit. Spaceship Earth! This isn't the Test Track of 1997. The ride will continue to support Fastpass when it reopens later this coming week. This signage mixes retro and futuristic beautifully! The test car from the old side queue area has been moved out front. It looks so clean! Test Track opens officially on December 6th, 2012. Time to ride again!

Check out a POV of the brand new Test Track at Epcot!

http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/indiana-379142-jones-disneyland.html

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has sent us a press release with a detailed run down on what its new event Christmas Town includes. We'll be there tonight for a media preview of this exciting new offering, so stay tuned for an in-depth look at Christmas Town later this weekend! [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=BGTB-ChristmasTown-BothDays-bRoll-FINAL-h264_6a13[/coastertube]

Disney Cruise Line has sent us a press advisory about its upcoming Wonder cruises out of Miami.

Heide Park has sent us a press release (which we have roughly translated) regarding their Christmas offerings at the park.