jedimaster1227

http://www.valleyfair.com/article/media-center/Valleyfair-Announces-2013-Expansions

http://www.sixflags.com.mx/noticias/nota.asp?TablaID=1&ID=375

Today I had the chance to once again represent Theme Park Review at another exciting media event for Legoland Florida, this time announcing something that I could really geek out about! Today's event covered the unveiling of the LEGO Star Wars Miniland expansion coming to the park this November. Similar to the similarly successful expansions at Legoland California and Legoland Windsor, the new section of Miniland will feature scenes from all six films, as well as the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series on Cartoon Network. The event itself was short, sweet and to the point. Legoland Florida continues to exceed expectations in every way, and we were assured that the park will continue to grow well into the future. Park General Manager Adrian Jones spoke to those present, starting off by directly address the rumors of a Pirate Shores expansion coming to Legoland Florida. He said that the maps that people have been creating (along with the permits shown) don't confirm anything and the people putting these together have shown him something he's not seen before in regards to the park's future... In other words, he made it clear that we won't be talking about Pirates at this event, or anytime in the near future. As for the LEGO Star Wars Miniland expansion Adrian was quick to let us know that while similar to the other Star Wars Miniland Expansions at the other Legoland properties, this one would be designed uniquely, would have unique interactive features and wouldn't be the last expansion to be made to Miniland... But I'll let you hear that from him. Take a look at the video to hear what he had to say about the expansion and more! [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=SW_Miniland_Announcement_fk53[/coastertube] We here again at Legoland Florida for a mystery media event... The announcement took place in the park's 4D Theater, adding to the mystery of the reveal. Two cloaked items teased us at the front of the theater... Park General Manager Adrian Jones began the presentation by referencing those 'false' Pirate Shores rumors. Notice anything peculiar about Adrian's minifig today? For those of you who don't know, Adrian always has a themed LEGO mini figure attached to his name badge to match the many media events the park hosts. Ok... You guys kind of knew it was coming, but now it is official! LEGO Star Wars Miniland is coming to Legoland Florida! LEGO Darth Vader even made an appearance to mark the announcement! After the announcement we were allowed to look at two of the new pieces that will be featured in LEGO Star Wars Miniland. I believe you saw this very figure in my photos from Star Wars Celebration VI as seen outside of the LEGO booth at the convention. As you'll hear in his interview, the Millennium Falcon is Adrian Jones' favorite part of the new expansion. No detail ignored! I couldn't resist! Another look at the models courtesy of Legoland Florida... So awesome! Next we were given a map that shows the layout of the expansion as it will be when it opens in November. LEGO Star Wars Miniland will be located behind the current New York section of Miniland along an existing pathway that was updated to allow for this addition. We won't have to wait long to see LEGO Star Wars Miniland complete... It is currently slated to open in November. I really look forward to seeing this in person once it is complete!

^If it is anything like Dead Exposure from HHN 18, this maze has the potential to scare me more than the others. The designers of Orlando's mazes tend to have fun when they put strobes in a room, and I know I've walked into several walls in the past as a result of this.

Legoland Florida has sent us a press advisory regarding an announcement taking place in the park this Thursday, which evoked a very familiar Star Wars text crawl.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/09/a-sip-of-lefous-brew-from-gastons-tavern-in-new-fantasyland-at-magic-kingdom-park/

http://www.fairpark.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=216&Itemid=28

http://meadvilletribune.com/local/x917776117/Conneaut-Lake-Park-extends-its-season

http://news-en.hongkongdisneyland.com/PressReleases/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?AssetId=433ce19b-f91f-49f2-84b0-13aaa77a8376 Starting from September 20th, the “Choose Your Dark Side Challenge” mobile app will be available for users to download and play. Users can join to struggle for ultimate power between the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe as they collect dark power with a simple flick of their touchscreens, anytime and anywhere. Brand new Halloween fun can be found throughout Hong Kong Disneyland! Get ready to enroll at “Graves Academy,” a once prestigious learning academy where Master Graves is breeding the evil of the future. Guests should join forces to support their team when the Vampires and Werewolves meet for the ultimate showdown at “Main Street, U.S.A. – Clash of Evil”. Be there to witness which team will be victorious and the supreme ruler of all dark forces. At Disney’s Haunted Halloween 2012, the Vampire Coven and the Were Tribe, two emerging forces of evil, are invading Hong Kong Disneyland and stirring up an intense clash to determine who will be the that permeates every corner of the Park. Meet for a creepy photo with nocturnal mythical creatures, ghoulish souls and the Grim Reaper wandering the dark and fogged pathways of “Adventureland – Cursed Jungle.” During your night of fun, do not miss out on the tempting Halloween-themed delicacies available both in Park and at the two themed hotels.

http://www.dorneypark.com/events/things-to-do/halloween-events/Zombie-Invasion-II

^Rust isn't as valuable as steel.

Heide Park has sent us several press releases regarding the latest happenings at the park. Please forgive the rough translations, but these press releases were sent in German.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/08/14/20120814entertainment-hub-progress-tribal.html

Aerophile provided the balloon rides for SkyStar at Ocean Park, one for OCT East, one for Wild Animal Park in San Diego, ones for Characters in Flight at Downtown Disney and PanoraMagique at Disneyland Paris and a ton of other ones for natural attractions around the globe. http://www.aerophile.com/en/44/theme-parks

http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/disney-370044-disneyland-sept.html

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/2/nation/11956126&sec=nation

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=126000&sid=37512126&con_type=1&d_str=20120831

^^I try not to remember the experience I had Cobra at La Ronde... I think this coaster holds more entertainment value being reclaimed by the earth than it ever could have being fully operational.

(Concluded) A little out of place, but I still love that there was some TRON love on the floor! This insane General Grievous costume from two years ago was back and still had my jaw on the floor. And of course, it wouldn't be a visit to Star Wars Celebration without a viewing of my favorite Star Wars Fan Film, Wampa. Look it up if you haven't seen it. The closing ceremonies for Star Wars Celebration VI included a sneak preview of Episodes II and III in 3D, as well as the announcement of when they will return to theaters next year. I have to say, the 3D was far superior to that seen in the re-release of Episode I. I'm really looking forward to checking out the films in theaters once again. And while the date and location of the next Star Wars Celebration in the United States wasn't shared, the announcement of a second Star Wars Celebration in Messe Essen, Germany was a cool surprise. The announcement came complete with a Bavarian band playing Star Wars music... I'm not kidding when I say that exiting the theater, I heard at least five different groups of people talking about booking their flights to Germany that same day. So with the closing ceremonies finished, I ran back to the show floor one last time to see what I might find... This was a sad sight to be had on the way there. Since we were on the topic of Ghostbuster Ackbar... Though packed during the rest of the weekend at Star Wars Celebration VI, Disney's D-Tech Me Carbon Freeze Me experience finally was without a line, allowing me to get a good picture of the setup, transplanted from the Sounds Dangerous theater at Disney's Hollywood Studios temporarily. But there was still more to be seen... More to do than could ever be done... I bought the bumper sticker. And this one too. Like I said, you hadn't seen everything just yet. I commend all of these alumni of the DAVE School for their incredible work! Pimps of Star Wars seemed to be a common theme on the show floor this year. If this is who I think it is, maybe I should have been nicer to Bryan over the years... Whysa not? It's clever because he's Bane and there's a Sith Lord in Star Wars known as Darth Bane... So he's Darth Bane. Most inventive costume? Probably not... But an A for effort. And to close, a semi-normal photo in front of an intended photo op... I had an amazing time at Star Wars Celebration VI and I cannot thank Robb & Elissa enough for allowing me to represent TPR at this incredible event!

And you thought I was done! But that was not the end you were looking for! If I wasn't broke, this wampa rug would totally be mine! There were some insanely accurate Darth Maul's roaming the show floor on Days 3 and 4. I'd never seen a Steampunk Vadress before. Tuscan Jedi! Mandalorean Juggernaut? I'm not even a Tennessee fan, but I was amused. Much like at Celebration V, they had a modeler's area where attendees could plaster and mâché notable scenes from the Star Wars films. This is just too much. Do you have a Bib forTuna? It looks like Order 66 is about to be executed. ... Papa Fett. More Blue Harvest fans... My lack of Star Wars costume gave away my media presence and the clone troopers converged on me. I escaped into the trash chute, which proved to not be such a great idea... But I soon escaped and blew up their home base on Alderaan! Oh, wait... Whoops. A day that will forever live in infamy. Time to try on a disguise to get out of here alive! He knows! This might've been the best Expanded Universe Darth Maul costume I saw all weekend. Since the Star Wars Detours panel was so awesome the first time, and it had been teased that we would be seeing new content at the second panel, I went back for more... Promise fulfilled! After the panel, I caught Warwick Davis rolling around the show floor on the way to his own panel. He graciously stopped to grab a quick photo! Impressive... Most impressive... For those that couldn't read the sign at the end of the line for the Star Tours panel, we created a sign for those of us at the front of the line so people would stop asking what we were waiting for... It didn't work so well, but gave us all a good laugh. The idea of updating Star Tours started back in 1998 ahead of the release of Episode I: The Phantom Menace. George Lucas approached Disney with the hope of bringing his podracing scene from the film to the ride. Yes, those infinite rumors were actually true, even back then. Notice the Boonta Eve Classic advertisement placed in the concept for the updated queue. The Droid Room would be updated to show the klutzy droids working on different integral parts for the racers. These were the original design for the 3D glasses for the updated ride... Designed in 1998. That means 3D was conceptually part of the update from the beginning! And it was scenes like this that would give a reason for there to be 3D. Progress on the project was slowed when the Imagineers and Lucas agreed to wait until the release of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, when other new locales and situations could be culled for use in an updated Star Tours. Once that time came, it was evident that no single flight pattern would be enough. This is the original matrix detailing the multiple story paths designed for the ride. Two years after the release of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Imagineers reconvened with Lucas to share basic storyboards of several of the courses designed for the updated ride. He asked that a basic animatic be created to demonstrate the scenes as they would look in motion... We were treated to some of the footage from that animatic. Destinations for the ride were chosen by the situations that could be used from their locales and the unique ways they would feel in the Starspeeder 1000... Naboo for aquatic motion, Tattooine for racing maneuvers, Hoth for an avalanche/slide and the Geonosis for space battles were examples given to us. It was confirmed to us that the Starspeeder 1000s you ride today are the same Starspeeder 3000s that operated in the original Star Tours attraction before the update. Though parts were replaced during the refurbishments, the simulators were not modified in any way for motion--it was simply discovered that the original programming only utilized a small range of the simulator's much larger range of possible motion. Once the timeline of the ride (between Episodes 3 and 4) were determined, it was confirmed that Captain Rex, the pilot droid from the original attraction would have to be replaced. ACE was the answer to that dilemma, at least initially. ACE ended up being too confident of a character after it was realized that his more nervous persona was too similar to Rex. George Lucas gave input on this issue by suggesting instead that C-3PO be the pilot for the ride. By the time this decision was made Anthony Daniels had already filmed his role in person and the sets needed for the shoot had been destroyed. Because of this ILM ended up fully animating the sequence seen inside of the cabin, seen here in its early form. It was confirmed that one of the actresses that appeared in the original boarding videos was brought back to reprise her role in the updated video. Next we were treated to a look at some of the gags and easter eggs included in the attraction. Wall-E's boot and plant were smuggled thru the baggage scan. "Let there be music from regions beyond" was always a reference to a galaxy far, far away! The Geonosis sequence originally saw Boba Fett chasing Star Tours thru the Death Star. The Oppee Sea Fish attach was another alternate concept pitched for the Naboo sequence. The finale of the Coruscant sequence was originally intended to end very differently. This toppling tower didn't make the final cut. Added in-cabin effects like a leak in the windshield in the Naboo scene were tested but cancelled after it was determined that they would damage the cabins too much after a long period of time. It was described to us how the Princess Leia hologram was brought back to life using the original negatives from the film, as well as a facial-actor matching the mouth movements to visually vocalize the "Help me Star Tours, you're my only hope" line. The "hitting-the-wookie" scene in Kashyyk was actually tested for realism with different employees at ILM slamming against a pane of glass and sliding down. Meep! Meep! All this scene needs is Dr. Ball and my fan dream would be complete. Intense.

I think we'll have to see how the park reports at the end of the season, but I have to say that I'm surprised to hear that it is succeeding as a water park alone... Especially that returning patrons are actually responding that they prefer the park without the dry rides. I really wanted Alabama Adventure to succeed after visiting it on the Deep South 2009 trip. The park treated us really, really well, and the rides were running incredibly. Rampage still ranks up there for one of my favorite ERT sessions ever. If operating solely as a water park is what it takes for this place to succeed, than so be it. I'd rather see an open water park than a close amusement facility rotting away (i.e. Hard Rock Park, Six Flags New Orleans and Kentucky Kingdom).

It looks like Fantawild definitely drew some inspiration from Disney California Adventure's former Orange Stinger (now the Silly Symphony Swings) with that design.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=pt-BR&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fosoldiario.clicrbs.com.br%2Fsc%2Fnoticia%2F2012%2F08%2Fnovos-moradores-no-parque-beto-carrero-3842176.html King Julian, Mort and Gloria are the newest residents of the park Beto Carrero World Photo: Mark Porto / Agencia RBS