jedimaster1227

Knott's Berry Farm has sent us a press release regarding the launch of their official trading pin program.

^^While that may be true, it should be noted that park attendance and operating cash flow have continued to rise despite operating costs remaining on par with what they were the previous year. I've updated my original post with a new article detailing such figures. I think the main fact to be noted from all of these ticket increases is that they are done because the parks can afford for them to be done. Every year Disney, Universal and SeaWorld increase their ticket prices, and yet their figures continue to show growth rather than loss. While I'm not defending any specific increase, I continue to look at it in this light... If people want a unique experience, they'll pay whatever the asking ticket price is. Despite each of these significant increases in pricing, people have (and will) continue to pay the price they have to pay to get the experience they want.

SkyVue has sent us a press release regarding their latest construction milestone!

Discovery Cove has sent us a press release about a new all-inclusive ticket package they are offering with purchase of admission to Discovery Cove.

Hersheypark has sent us another press release regarding Skyrush!

Noah's Ark Water Park has sent us a press release regarding its huge addition, Quadzilla!

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-05-29/business/os-universal-raises-prices-20120529_1_ticket-prices-single-park-offering-unlimited-admission http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-05-02/business/os-comcast-universal-earnings-20120502_1_theme-parks-nbcuniversal-wizarding-world Universal Orlando has also sent us a press release announcing the opening of sales for tickets to this year's Rock the Universe event. On another note, Annual Passholders for Universal Orlando should keep an eye on the following website for upcoming information regarding pass holder previews for Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. http://www.universalorlandoresort.com/APminion/

I know it is just the lift hill but this ride is already looking awesome. After seeing the New Texas Giant turn out to be one crazy ride, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what Rocky Mountain can pull off for Silver Dollar City!

This may just be the thing that convinces me to fork over the cash for a Fun Spot annual pass! That layout really looks amazing and my anticipation for the Fun Spot expansion has gone up 200%!

That would probably be one of the smallest expenses as it has been reported previously that there is a very small (one to two people) maintenance team that has been consistently paid to operate and maintain the attractions (to the best of their ability) in holding out for the eventual hope that the park will open again with the need for these rides to run (or to keep them in a good enough condition to be sold at a decent value). That being said, this plan still is ridiculous... Like worse than "Kat & Kiwi" ridiculous.

Being a person who has always been very interested in the developments surrounding Hard Rock/Freestyle Music Park... That being said, having read your entire "proposal," I'm still completely lost as to who you are, what makes you qualified to spearhead a park's revival or where you intend to get the money to not only support the feasibility study that you seem so intent to perform but also the money to invest in the park in all of the ways you listed, not to mention either leasing or outright buying the park from the company that bought it out of foreclosure most recently. I don't mean to sound so harsh, but this all seems like total Blue Sky dreaming. A couple of things: You do realize that anything inside of that park with a brand name associated with it would be up for review from the brand, meaning that if they aren't happy with the damage the park's poor performance in the last two runs has made it (and I assure you, none are), they would likely demand that their branding be entirely stripped from the park so as to avoid further brand damage (if they haven't already). You list the Bohemian Rhapsody. The park lost the rights to the show after Hard Rock Park closed. You list the Gibson Guitar. Considering how close Gibson was very close to NOT allowing the park to keep its name when it returned as Freestyle, I'd be VERY surprised if they'd allow you to touch them with a ten foot pole. The Roadies Stunt Show and Malibu Beach Party as well as all of the coasters, flat rides and offerings you listed using their original names and themes not only rely on rights the park lost a long time ago, but all of them are developed around concepts that are copyrighted intellectual properties and trademarks that are still active, owned by HRP Creative Services, so you would never get them back without a major price to be paid. And I'll assure you, Led Zeppelin and the Eagles wouldn't dare let you put their names back into these parks after everything that happened with Hard Rock Park. You want to bring back Nights in White Satin? Good luck with that one. Moody Blues won't give you the rights. You have no empirical proof that that ride was such a popular attraction that it affected park attendance in a significant manner, so the capital needed to bring back this dark ride is not justified. Creditors won't justify the expense. Moody Blues won't let you use their music again. HRP Creative Services will certainly not let you have the rights to the dark ride concept of Nights in White Satin: The Trip, which is one of their copyrighted concepts. From here your proposal gets far more unrealistic. You intend to retheme the park to the Outback Oasis yet half (if not all) of your existing attractions carry the same old music theme? That makes absolutely no sense. The park has always suffered from brand and marketing confusion, and with this concept you seem to only want to worsen the issue in the (hypothetical and unlikely) round three. Do you realize how much money goes into operating and maintaining animal attractions? This is above any budget you could pull for this sinkhole of a park, and also wholly unjustified. Animals won't be enough to bring people to this park when you have local safari parks within several other bordering states, plus Wild Adventures and both Busch Gardens parks within the spheres of influence of Myrtle Beach itself. This is the WRONG concept to ride on. All of these extra attractions you pulled from the Intamin and Huss catalogs? The parks that have these took years to assemble them in their collection, investing and earning back their money well before they started construction on the next. You think you can drop in 15+ major attractions (especially with several coming from Intamin) for cheap and quick in time for one brand new season? This is an insane concept and is simply improbable. How is a feasibility study going to tell you whether to buy a Supersplash or a Reverse Boat Ride? I'd love to know. Now that I've indulged the insane aspects of your "proposal" I'll ask again. Who are you to even try this? This isn't some wooden coaster in Ohio you are trying to disassemble and rebuild with some pickup trucks and a few thousand dollars on your side. This is a 400 million dollar park with a history of failure and significant debt that has plagued Myrtle Beach since the day it was announced. I loved the park when I visited it several years ago, but I knew then that it would close, just as I know now that it won't likely reopen anytime soon. Unless you can tell me where you have the money and the actual management, financial and marketing background to revolutionize this project, I have to believe that you have no experience and are simply dreaming out loud on a forum. Just because you come up with a cheap quality logo and an "idea" of what you want to do doesn't mean this would or could ever happen? Based on everything you shared with us, you have NOTHING to work off of. Again, I hate to come across so harsh, but until you can give us something to believe that you'd even possibly have the clout to make this happen, we have to look at you based on what little you have given us... And that isn't anything that leads me to believe this park will ever reopen under your supervision.

Twice this weekend Theme Park Review was invited to participate in special occasions at Legoland Florida, both surrounding the new Legoland Water Park! The first event (Thursday) served not only as the media preview, but as the first annual pass holder preview for the park, with a special twist. To help launch the "resort's" newest aspect, the park decided to challenge the existing Guinness World Record of the number of beach balls thrown in the air at the same time (with the previous record being 401 balls). It wasn't hard to beat the record, considering the park had 1,355 guests volunteer to throw their complementary beach balls up for the cause. It was definitely an awesome sight to be seen from an elevated platform (like the one I got to stand on), with the sea of beach balls waving like the water in the wave pool where many of the guests waded during the record breaking process. After breaking the record, the water park was left open for us to explore! I'll come back to a rundown of the park after describing Day 2... The second event (Saturday) was the Legoland Water Park's grand opening, kicked off by General Manager of Legoland Florida, Adrian Jones. Staged in front of the Joker Soaker water fortress attraction, Adrian and Tim Oldenburg, one of the Water Park Representatives cut the ribbon (using a Lego scissor) to mark the opening... And with that, Joker Soaker's giant water bucket tipped to soak the two park leaders in their business attire! Quite an awesome moment to be seen! Now on to the dissecting the water park itself! Located in the back corner of the park neighboring Flight School most closely (as well as a section of the Cypress Gardens botanical gardens), the Legoland Water Park occupies the same space as the former Splash Island Water Park which was an offering at the Cypress Gardens Adventure Park. Utilizing almost all of the existing water park infrastructure, Legoland Florida absorbed the property and modified it to serve as its newest, and largest-to-date water park in the chain. Comprised of three body slides, two tube slides, a wave pool, a large water fortress (complete with tipping bucket), a lazy river featuring the popular "build-a-raft" concept launched at the California sister park, a dining venue and gift shop, all of these former Splash Island staples have been Lego-ized to blend in with the rest of Legoland Florida. Also added to the water park is the DUPLO wading pool and several Lego water play stations fit for the younger guests visiting. As with the other Lego Water Park(s), floatation vests are offered for guests free of charge and lockers are available for a small fee. Admission to the Legoland Water Park requires valid park admission to Legoland Florida, as well as a $12 up charge fee to enter (although children age 3 and younger get in free). The water park also rents private cabanas (which we were able to test out), which is a nice plus! The new Legoland Water Park is an excellent value and a fantastic new offering for prospective and return guests of Legoland Florida. For such a small fee, you get an awesome family-friendly experience without ever having to leave the main park. Guests of the Water Park can also leave the water park to enjoy the main park and return as they please throughout the day by getting their hand stamped. While there, I observed (what not surprisingly I had come to expect) enthusiastic team members and employees working in the water park whose focus on safety and promoting a memorable experience was clearly at the top of their priorities. Managed by a fantastic team of enthusiastic and dedicated leaders, Legoland Florida continues to amaze me with their impressive care of every aspect of their guest experience and continuing to keep their product up to date. General Manager Adrian Jones continued to express his (infectious) enthusiasm for the park and its future, making it clear that we should expect something new for the park EVERY year. With the Legoland Hotel to confirmed to be on the way (building off of the success of the Windsor property) and plenty of additional park space left for expansion (I've got a great set of photos I took from the Island in the Sky that I'll post soon that show this off), I'd say the future is bright for Legoland Florida! And to think, two years ago many people were skeptical of how even Legoland could turn the floundering Cypress Gardens into a successful tourism staple... Look at how the park not only continues to exceed attendance and profit expectations, but has already added a new water park, several new attractions, shops and restaurants in less than seven months from its opening date. They're clearly doing something right, and it can definitely be seen by visiting the park for yourself, so get out there! Guess where we are today! Time to approach the new Legoland Water Park! Notice the lazy river flows underneath the entrance bridge! One more thing Legoland does really well: color schemes! In case you already forgot what this report is about... Some of the "build-a-rafts" were out and about in the lazy river before the park opened for the preview day. For those of you that have been to the park, this should help to give you an idea of the location of the Legoland Water Park. As a part of the Guinness World Record attempt, we were all given beach balls! If you visited Splash Island at Cypress Gardens previously you'll be sure to recognize the park, but you'll also notice the amount of Lego theming that has been added in the conversion process. Standard water park rules presented in a respectful manner. With 1,355 volunteers present, the record wasn't hard to beat! I mean, there were really a ton of people here! A cherry picker was brought in to capture video of the record attempt from above. Not shortage of Lego touches here! The buildup before the record attempt including a dance along. It was truly quite a feat to see! It's Lifeguard Buddy! They even had beach babes! I couldn't resist! Twin Chasers was the popular complex of the day... Dispatching at the same time, the two slides have guests finishing at the exact same time, as if they were racing. Looks nice! A guest enjoys one of the Twins! One of the two Twin Chasers is fully enclosed while the other is an open air slide. Splash Out is the body slide complex for the park--definitely the biggest thrill for the older guests in the park. And it is quite photogenic! Down you go! I see a smile! The slide has a neat little "pre-drop" unlike most major body slides I've seen. The longer line for Twin Chasers versus the bigger slides of Splash Out seems to evidence the park's audience tastes. While walking back towards Joker Soaker, two random beach balls chased each other down the path without wind or anything propelling them (I'm seriously not kidding). They seriously just kept rolling on without a driving force behind them... Kind of reminds me of the Horror B-Movie "Tire." "An odd tan you have sir!" The Legoland Water Park has benches made entirely out of milk jugs. Yay for Green Initiatives! Twin Chasers sign love for Larry... The water park has the same style directional signage as the main park. Joker Soaker is the park's water fortress attraction... And it has several small slides stemming from its top. These slides were also popular with the younger guests. Even more slides! Guests can spray or drop water on guests below! See? The Joker Soaker slides are fun for all ages! And there's no doubt, this water fortress has character! The Joker Soaker's tipping water bucket is pretty awesome. And it certainly gets the job done! Hence the attraction name... My mind jumped to Space Invaders when I saw her shirt. There are some water play stations set up throughout the park which provide entertainment to younger guests and their families. There's also no shortage of Lego bricks to be put into the active circulation of the lazy river. I did see some small Lego buildings on rafts, but nothing too stunning yet. I want this fountain! Lifeguards on Stilts! Coming to SyFy in 2013 Lifeguards on Stilts meets Sharktopus Coming to SyFy in 2014 The DUPLO wading pool was a new addition to the Legoland Water Park, being one of the few things not previously existent (in any form) in the former Splash Island water park. DUPLO animals act as controllable fountains for the younger guests to play with. Must've just chomped on a water balloon. Don't quite get this one... Needs a cool and refreshing Coca-Cola to give it more contextual sense. Do you agree? The Surf Shop features Lego merchandise as well as swim gear for sale. The Beach n Brick Grill is the park's main food and beverage option. Seriously folks, the Legoland Water Park is pretty awesome! Come check it out along with the rest of Legoland Florida! There's so much to ride, see, do and explore at this park, there really is something here for everyone! Thanks to Legoland Florida for having me out this weekend to cover everything!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/high-performance-karting-added-to-the-car-masters-weekend-lineup-june-2-3/

http://blog.mirabilandia.it/2012/05/17/una-settimana-impegnativa/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/first-look-cars-wing-takes-shape-at-disneys-art-of-animation-resort/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/more-of-cars-land-at-night-through-a-photographers-lens-at-disney-california-adventure-park/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/check-out-new-souvenir-cocktail-glasses-at-trader-sams-at-the-disneyland-hotel/

My thoughts exactly. It may be a little more expensive to buy a Disneyland annual pass, but to add Walt Disney World to said pass for only $200 is as a pretty fantastic offering! Doing some further math here... The Florida Resident Premium Annual Pass for Walt Disney World is current priced at $542 and without the Florida Resident deal it is $692. The new price of the Premier Passport is $850, so for a difference of either $300 (for FL resident) or $158 (regular), you get the Premium Pass for the Disneyland Resort ($649), plus the the Walt Disney World Resort Premium Pass ($542 or $692) all in one. So by paying $850 for the Premier Passport, you would save anywhere from from $342 with the FL resident price, to $492 without (when compared to buying both premium passes separately). While it is still $100 more than I paid last year for the same pass, it is still a steal for existing pass holders at either resort... At least if my math is correct.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/disneyland-resort-ticket-price-update/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/disneyland-resort-ticket-prices-2012/

Knott's Berry Farm has sent us a press release regarding some of their entertainment options for the Summer season.

Six Flags Over Georgia has sent us a press release regarding their upcoming season at Six Flags White Water.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/disney-phineas-ferb-agent-ps-world-showcase-adventure-coming-in-late-june/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/three-new-faces-come-to-the-disneyland-resort-manny-mandy-and-mona-monorails/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/disney-parks-authentic-showno-perfect-for-summer-fun/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/disneys-art-of-animation-resort-merchandise-comes-to-life/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/celebrate-solstice-june-20-with-midsummer-feast-at-raglan-road-at-downtown-disney/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/new-fantasyland-model-goes-on-display-at-one-mans-dream-may-16/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/learn-to-draw-phineas-and-ferb-at-the-magic-of-disney-animation-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/new-behind-the-scenes-video-looks-at-star-wars-weekends-2012-debut-to-celebrate-launch-of-event-themed-mobile-website/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2012/05/the-sequel-debuting-more-behind-the-scenes-videos-photos-for-star-wars-weekends-2012-at-disneys-hollywood-studios/