jedimaster1227

(Continued) I finally know why all the rum's gone... And why nobody had found it until now. Hate to tell you, but this creepy looking spider wasn't a prop. Time for us to move, ASAP! I feel like this would actually be a neat place to watch the parade from. Mental note taken. New Fantasyland's crane is visible from up here too. The fruit looks pretty fresh. For fear of my caption being misconstrued, I'll leave it up to you. Blackbeard recently ousted Davy Jones as the resident waterfall ghost. Davy Jones will return later this year. The Jack Sparrow animatronic at the end of the ride has held up quite well over these last few years. Promotional tie-ins abound On Stranger Tides. So back we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios, as my friend had never before seen Fantasmic. I figured it would be a great opportunity for me to play around with my camera! Mickey's arrival for the beginning of the show. That's Mickey doing his "explosive Nixon." Seamless. Sorry California, I like this better. The world is a carousel of color... Here's where the fun begins! Burst mode is my friend. Isn't it the snake from the Jungle Book at Disneyland? Lord Malificent... Rise! Such a cool transition! Even without Murphy, I like this version of the show the most. Fire! Fire! Fire! Am I back at Paradise Bay? Here's where I started to play around with my camera's settings... 88 miles per hour! He's gone back! Where Doc, where? Back to the Future! Captain EO gloves are awesome! Tikli Moots Moots? You're just another part of me. Thanks again for reading!

(Continued) Demolition on the Fantasyland Skyway Building has finally begun. I hope they at least keep the clock tower. I want to make sure it shows up in all three generations of my Back to the Future trilogy. Signage has been added to the Haunted Mansion queue, giving guests a better idea of what they are getting into depending on which side they choose. The queue is still busy... Here are some of the instruments from the Museum of the Weird side of the musical mausoleum. Supposedly influenced by guest comments, Master Gracey's tomb has been expanded to look like he could be laid flat as opposed to buried standing up. This is still my favorite part of the new queue. Some of the Haunted Mansion cryptograph for your pleasure. Some more new details presented without comment. Not sure if you knew this, but after the last major Haunted Mansion refurbishment (the one where the Escher stairs were added), the old staring portraits were added to the loading room. Captain Culpepper himself! Over at Splash Mountain, an amazing jet burst was on for the Summer heat. My friend had never been to see the Country Bear Jamboree before, so we had to go! Listen to the lyrics. Those guys at WDI (or WED) were tongue-in-cheek geniuses! Whoo boy... Every time I see this show, I appreciate it more. I would even go as far as to say that these days, I like it more than the original Tiki Room. Sleepy bear is sleepy? My favorite. The entrance of Pecos Bills is being refurbished. Work on the Enchanted Tiki Room continues as it is readied for its August return. Thanks to the summer heat, the Leaky Tikis were a popular attraction for the day. I call it an attraction because Hong Kong Disneyland does too. Time to boldly go where I should never have gone before... I don't wanna! Forward is the only way we can go now! I'm going to use the excuse that the next set of photos was done purely for the sake of Larry. Call me on my bluff. Me thinks you can still see the metal support structure in this "tree."

So I went back to Disney a few days ago with a friend that had yet to experience several major (and minor) parts of Walt Disney World. So, in the process I took lots of photos! In case you were wondering which company was which. Lots of Star Tours merch! When 800 years old you get, eyesight not so good, is it? Only for you TPR. Only for you... During the week, the Star Wars Weekends stages gets a minor overlay to better blend it into the park. Only for you TPR. Only for you... The new Winnie the Pooh meet & greet has opened inside of The Magic of Disney Animation Building. Seems popular with the kids... The balloon moves along the pulley, back and forth in the area. A pretty nice touch! The queue for the meet received a minor upgrade as well. Streetmosphere doing their thing! Over at Magic Kingdom, we were greeted with this lovely sign of the times! The longest I've ever waited to see Mickey here, but still not a terrible wait at all! Since riding Cheetah Hunt, exploring the Disney Magic and going on several Star Tours, I've attained magical powers. A fun little detail that the Imagineers recently added... Flash photography reveals an electricity effect in Mickey! It also works on the orb itself! For the last few weeks, Minnie has been with Mickey at his meet & greet. Not sure if this is permanent, but it is certainly welcome. Mary Poppins, right? The Dapper Dans are always amazing! Remember this guy? This was long before we started using transparapaper. Welcome home! You've arrived! It wouldn't be a visit to the Magic Kingdom with a ride on the TTA! What have we here? Is that a real space shuttle? Something's gone vertical... SPACE! SPACE MOUNTAIN! (For some reason, I look really tired in this photo.) The Carousel of Progress's sign is currently missing to be refurbished or possibly replaced. First sign of the return of the Flying Saucers, right guys? Tempting? Back to Storybook Circus... Not much visible work on this side of things, but... The metal support structure for the new tent queue area for the dueling Dumbos has been completed. It went up even faster than the new entrance at DCA! I'm guessing it'll be done and ready to open by next week... Pooh and Tigger have been meeting guests out front of the construction wall across from the ride, which is nice. Exterior work on "Enchanted Tales with Belle" continues to rapidly progress. The support structure for the soon-to-be-framed rockwork on the Be Our Guest restaurant has been installed. And it looks like Gaston's Tavern has also been framed. Rockwork is nearly complete behind Maurice's Cottage. That makes me Six. Things are starting to shape up quickly on this side of New Fantasyland! More facade installation going on at the far end of Beast's Castle. I still think it is pretty neat that they installed the castle facade long before the rest of the building's facade and surrounding work was complete. It looks like Mermaid has quite a ways to go before it is ready. Busy day, huh?

(Continued) Now here was the moment I had been most eagerly waiting for! The decor on the entry walls is just awesome! Sebastion looks a little pale. Watch as... ...the... ...sketch... ...transforms! I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of fiber optic lighting! Screens are embedded in the walls and are used to better convey the story of the dinner during the show. Now this is different! The previously pictured portrait of Hercules is now full of color! Quite a clever effect! Passing through Shutters, the print-then-pick photo spot. Moving into Studio Sea! More bar shots for Derek. Somewhere around the world, a fan has shed a tear. Oh, I forgot... We're not actually cruising today! Pirates of the Caribbean concept art! This is a very well themed club. Where are we now you ask? A private box that isn't actually for use in the movie theater? Nope. We're actually in the movie theater! I lubs me some movie films! This is known as the Buena Vista Theatre. I wish I could see a movie here... They actually show the ship's progress via GPS as it sails. On to the Oceaneer's Club! If I was a kid on the ship, this would be my new home. Some game stations for the older of the Oceaneers... Not even gunna say it. Kungaloosh? A view from the top floor of the interior lobby. Can you guess where we are now? Guess you'll have to find out during the next update...

Thanks to a very close friend of mine working on the Disney Magic for the last year, I was fortunate enough to do a walking tour of the ship while it was at port in Cape Canaveral about a month ago. I had never been on a Disney ship before (I've only cruised twice, both with Royal Caribbean), so this was a great experience for me to see what all the hype was about, without necessarily having to sail to find out. Being a Disney fan, I found a lot of great little touches that made me appreciate the ship. Clearly, I'm in the right place. Welcome home! You've arrived! Thematic sconces are awesome! I'm technically at sea, right? Our first stop was Sessions, one of the many bars on the ship. (Ignore the random Cast Member I accidentally caught in the shot.) Old ship grandeur meets newer Disney style. Programs for the upcoming cruise are found throughout the ship. Most of the ship's bars have a piano, which is a nice touch. Bar POV!!! Moving on to Rockin' Bar D! Notice the wood/western style construction of the roof? That's because Rockin' Bar D used to be a country bar! Lots of details to take in! So many details! A little out of place, but the thought of Palo alone was very exciting! The bar... Farewell Rockin' Bar D! Found this little gem on the floor... Beat Street! Light emitting diodes, right Andrew? Welcome to the lobby! Hidden Mickey OVERLOAD!!! You are not de first to take dis photo, nor shall you be da last. Lumiere's looked like an amazing restaurant. *drools* The lights actually have roses encased in them, which change as the meal goes on! So cool! I sure hope so! I love glass art... You'll see plenty more photos of this later on too. It wouldn't be Disney without plenty of character meet and greet opportunities. Clever! Is that what we look like from above? Disney offers a touch-to-order photo printing service for all photos taken during the cruise, in addition to the print-then-pick service offered by most cruise lines. The Promenade Lounge has a more relaxed feel to it. For Larry. Being the Parrothead I am, this restaurant interested me. Mas vino! I'm in heaven. I'm gunna make one of my mansion's rooms look just like Parrot Bay. That will be in addition to my Haunted Mansion room, my Star Tours: The Adventures Continue simulator, my Atlantis: The Cove recreation and my pool filled with Del Grosso's SAUCE. LEDs. That's light emitting diodes, if you didn't know. Yep, I'm still alive, despite the fact that I've died and gone to heaven.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/universal-orlando-sold-to-comcast-20110606,0,4638257.story

Six Flags Great America has sent us a press release regarding the debut of Riptide Bay at Hurricane Harbor, the water park's newest expansion. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=50364_0602_16x9_9roc[/coastertube]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-seaworld-branching-out-20110604,0,7294124.story SeaWorld has also sent us a press release about the latest of a rehabilitated manatee. [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=SeaWorld_Releases_Little_Joe_the_manatee_2_np67[/coastertube]

^^^Dispatches on the first day (the Sunday) were a little slower, but it seemed that by Tuesday they had their groove and were sending out trains quite fast. That being said, speedy dispatch continues to rely on the minimal amount of delay from guests, which can definitely mess things up at times. ^^I believe Curiosity Caverns was a recently refurbished exhibit that had been closed for quite some time. I had heard of it a few times on the net over the last couple of years, but I believe it only opened/re-opened within the last year/two years. ^Curiosity Caverns is located directly across from the Nairobi/Edge of Africa train station. I had to search for a while and found it only by accident as I was looking for Jambo Junction.

^I've only been on one other Intamin accelerator and that was Stormrunner, but my memory of the ride is more than vague, so I'm probably not the best one to ask on the matter.

^Except at Six Flags America... There, it would fit right in!

^^I'm sure if someone really wanted a Sky Swat for their park and was willing to pay for it, S&S would still produce it for them. I just don't think anyone really wants a Sky Swat for their park. The ride really doesn't do much besides make you feel like you've made a mistake, you are upside down on a mistake and that you are stapled into a seat while upside down on a mistake. That's about all the value I've ever found in this ride!

(Continued) This one's for you Robb! (Why does this always happen when I'm around?) I had completely forgotten, but I had never been in Curiosity Caverns, so I gave it a try. "Hadoshtey... Oombadey, oombadey!" An ugly little thing. How I've been oblivious to this place's existence is truly beyond me. Busch Baby! There's bats here too! Lemurs are fun... Thanks for reading!

(Continued) I actually got to sit in the test seat this time! Our friend was still in queue when we got back, once again entertaining guests. Tah-dah! He really was entertaining to watch! Tah-dah! Another one of the characters came into the queue! A pretty cool shirt for the collector... Another look at the questionable concept art for the Windcatcher tower. Much better! Notice the recurring cheetah graphic in the banners. Mark Rose told us about the hidden tributes in the architecture. I found two! The Egyptian influence is pretty cool in here! The view from the backside of Cheetah Run... Looking towards the guest side of Cheetah Run from behind the exhibit glass. Blends pretty well, right? See the cheetah faces in the pattern? The launch bridge is extremely well themed! The supports and track are even wrapped in detailed theming! Whee! The bridge masks much of the train from view, but it does stick out in a few areas, teasing guests as they walk by. Sleepy cheetah is sleepy...

So I went back on Tuesday to get some rides on the Skyride and get a few more runs in on Cheetah Hunt. While there, I visited a few areas of the park that I hadn't seen before, and revisited some that I hadn't taken the time to see in a while. The thought of an empty queue made me sick to my stomach, considering I waited 210 minutes a mere two days prior. But looking forward, a 35 minute wait was great! Much better! I could get used to this! The Skyride is open once again, but nothing significant has changed, except for the view. That being said, it is still one of my favorites in the park. The station offers a decent view of the Windcatcher tower. The view from above is really great! We're going in! The first train we were able to catch in motion on this run. Clearing and site prep for the new animal care center is coming along nicely. I think this photo sums up the ride pretty well... Awesome! Most people forget about the Tanganyika Tidal Wave, but it does create some great photo moments. Kumba is still fun too. Let's show it some love. Time for our return trip on the Skyride. This time around, we saw plenty of trains along the way. Diving back into the trench. I'm quite fond of this one. The maintenance bay is beneath the Skyride station. One train can be seen, waiting out of rotation for the day. Busch Gardens had all of their characters out in the Crossroads of Culture today. Two of them even came into the queue for Cheetah Hunt! Not sure what's going on here... He wanted to pose for you all... Another character roaming around.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2011/06/what’s-next-at-the-disneyland-resort-and-disney-destinations/

(Continued) Who could this belong to? Remember Tom Morrow 2.0? He was only removed from Epcot's Innoventions a few years ago. And the last part of the Destination D: Walt Disney World 40th event? Magic Journeys, a concert with Richard Sherman and the Cast Member group, Encore! The show started off with some songs from an entertainer who had been performing for Disney since Walt Disney World first opened. Then the Kids of the Kingdom performers that were still cast members came out on stage to do one of their original routines. The Mainstreet Marching Band came out next to perform. Here we go! You really can tell Richard Sherman loves what he does, and is truly fond of the work he and his brother have done for Disney over the last four decades. I'm not sure if anyone else there noticed, but Richard Sherman was wearing an Orange Bird pin on his lapel. Then something happened that no one in the audience expected. The Dreamfinder came out, with Figment in is arms. Get ready for a Dreamfinder photo overload. Indulge a nostalgic fan, won't you? "No, I'm not going to try to sell you." A reference to the sale of various Figment dolls in recent years. Then, the Dreamfinder asked Richard Sherman to sing One Little Spark for him. To which he soon joined in. The Dreamfinder then led a sing-along of One Little Spark. I'm pretty sure half of the audience couldn't sing, as they were too busy crying. Seriously, this was a very emotional moment for masses. A few more long-time cast members came out to sing Golden Dreams to the audience. Then Encore! came out to perform a medley of music from Epcot's history. It really was an amazing show! Time to wrap things up... Farewell everyone! That's all for this photo report... Thanks for reading!

(Continued) The entire layout of the new resort and all four of its wings. The Nemo rooms will look like this. The exterior decorations of the Cars wing are seen here. And the interior decor... The Lion King rooms... On to Fantasyland we go... An early model of the entrance for The Little Mermaid... And a little more fleshed out. And a new model for the Be Our Guest restaurant and Belle's Village. Maurice's Cottage will be the entrance to an interactive retelling of the story of the Beauty and the Beast. The Imagineers described this alone as a 45 minute experience from start to finish (though it wasn't stated if this figure could include queue time). Dumbo's look will be updated to better reflect the surrounding Storybook Circus environ when it moves into New Fantasyland in 2012/2013. Oh, and one last minor piece of news... The Enchanted Tiki Room is coming back to Walt Disney World! During our lunch break at the Liberty Tree Tavern, I tried the Rainbow Trout with Mashed Potatoes (was the catch of the day). It was amazing! We skipped one of the presentations to go try our hand at a Star Tours soft opening. This time, we were lucky! This was the last photo from the soft opening I could take--all rules followed here. Back at Destination D, they had an Archives Exhibit with a few selections of note. Its Jose Carioca from the Mickey Mouse Revue! OOOH! *drools* Despite being quite old, Panchito's animatronic has been preserved as if it were brand new. Why haven't these figures been repurposed for Gran Fiesta Tour at Epcot? Seriously? There is a perfect stage already set up for them at the end of the attraction! Inner mechanics...

(Continued) So later in the day, we sat in on one of my favorite panels of the event... Hosted by Jason Surrell, Alex Wright and Jason Grandt, the Imagineers focused on the subtle and not-so-subtle aspects of the Disney Detail left by the Imagineers. All three had plenty of Disney experiences as kids. Time for some reading... Tropical Amity TropiCalAmity Tropi-Calamity So Jason Grandt told us this very neat story about how he implanted a shape he loved from Tomorrowland into Epcot. See the banner? Well over at the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, there is a stairwell that leads up to the Astro Orbiter. The stairwell has steps with a very distinct shape (see the right hand image). When designing the banner, Jason added this shape into the image as a fun little tribute to his favorite steps. True story, bro. Anyone ever see this Haunted Mansion artwork before? Notice the Hatbox Ghost in the role of the Grim Reaper. You wouldn't believe how much thought went into the planning and design of the Pirates League at the Magic Kingdom. Also something I didn't realize, but a lot of the thought went into the Pirate Chess Stalemate scene in the queue. When refurbishing the attraction, the chess pieces were to be put back into the exact same stalemate position they were in when the attraction first debuted. This card was found in the archives as an instruction to the original designers on where to place the pieces when first building the ride. A fun gem to be found in Pizzafari at Animal Kingdom. As I think I've mentioned before, there is a ton of detail thrown into the new Mickey meet & greet at the Magic Kingdom. A little tribute here that I hadn't noticed in person before. Jason Grandt drew this art as a child and it was actually used in the meet & greet! The next panel was a "What's Next?" for Walt Disney World. Kathy Rogers started out by talking about Star Tours: The Adventures Continue. They decided to show us some concept art of the new queue... It is amazing how close the attraction ended up looking to what was conceptualized. They even conceptualized the Rex tribute! Then they decided to give us a preview of the Art of Animation Resort! The lobby of the resort...

^Unfortunately, those were all of the questions they asked using the screen. They did a speed round verbally and narrowed it down from there, so that's all I've got.

(Continued) A pirate at Discovery Island at the Seven Seas Lagoon. The main entry plaza to the Animal Kingdom (past the Oasis) was eventually renamed Discovery Island. "River Country! Big River Country..." I had never heard of this one before. The Disney Inn became what is now the Shades of Green Resort. An old restaurant that used to be at the French Quarter. One of the original Treehouse Villas. The Disney Institute was a cool idea that unfortunately never caught on. I really didn't realize how old the Downtown Disney Marketplace really is. This store was located where Basin is now. Two of the three restaurants at the Empress Lily at Downtown Disney before it became Fulton's Crab House. I believe the top photo was the Fisherman's Deck and the bottom was Steerman's Quarters. Each of the three restaurants had its own specialty, theme and menu. And this was Empress Room, an extremely-limited-seating, four star restaurant at the top of the Empress Lily. The outside of Pleasure Island's Neon Armadillo... Never saw it. Not saying anything. The same goes for this one. Did anyone get to go to the XZFR Rockin' Rollerdrome before it was closed? STOLport still exists, but it is no longer an active runway. Time for a presentation on EPCOT, the concept from Walt Disney, and not the park. The amazing things they find in the archives... As with the majority of the Destination D seminars, there was a good deal of humor thrown in the mix. My jaw hit the floor upon reading this correspondence. One of Walt's original napkin layouts of the Walt Disney World Resort. In the top left is the Magic Kingdom, and in the center would be EPCOT. A previously unreleased photo of the film shoot for Walt Disney's last film, Project X. One of the concepts Walt had intended to pitch to potential EPCOT sponsors... I didn't know this, but Walt had so deeply thought out EPCOT, that he commissioned (and designed) entire apartment complexes for the city. According to Steven Vagnini there were reportedly hundreds of these sketches, all unique to a different building or complex. Walt was so specific in his planning, that they actually found furniture plans and designs that he created for EPCOT. More humor thrown in the mix... A unique photo taken from inside of the Utilidors... The next presentation was something I was glad I gave a chance, because it ended up being fantastic. Tim O'Day's binder featured the title poster for The Mask of Zorro, one of my favorite movies of all time. Some of the more odd press stunts... The grand opening of the Disney-MGM Studios. The following day, the two current Walt Disney World Ambassadors kicked things off by reintroducing Steven Clark, Head of D23. Ready for an interesting presentation? Loving this! Only 721 slides to go! This may take a while... ... Surprise! That whole part was a lead in to the test of the Ultimate Disney Trivia Tournament which will take place at the D23 Expo this August. If you had wings, Delta Dreamflight, Dreamflight and Take Flight. The last set of photos should be online sometime next week. Thanks again for reading!

(Continued) Does this count as Index worthy? "Magic Journeys... Are they real?" I miss this show. Don't even remember this one. I'm smiling right now. Not so much anymore... Never got to see it operate... Just watched the lagoon sit unused for years. Way before New Tomorrowland. One of the early Circlevision films shown at the Magic Kingdom. Somewhere around the world, a tear has been shed. ^Ditto. "If you had wings... Had wings... Had wings..." Can you guess where this came from? An old favorite of mine. Still one of my fondest memories of the Magic Kingdom. Not in its original location, and definitely not sporting its newer colors. Also, notice the Sun Giant sponsorship. Pre-Sonny Eclipse. Mickey's Birthdayland! The old EPCOT Center touchscreens. SMRT-1 at Communicore. Rollercoaster Tycoon Version 0.15B The voting for this was supposed to happen for a decade, but when cast members stationed at the attraction seemed to vote for themselves on a daily basis, Disney quietly retired the concept. These stories were given to us by Archivist Dave Smith during his presentation. Centorium before it was replaced by Mouse Gear. Presented without comment. We'll get back to you later in the report... Somewhere across the interwebs, a pool of tears is shed. The old Horizons mural... Before the attraction was closed, the mural was removed, but it wasn't sent to the Walt Disney Archives. To this date, the mural's location or status remains unknown. "And then, the deluge..." "I swear, we just moved at least 20 feet!" Am I the only one that misses the SeaCabs? I remember this so fondly! Not much has changed here. The Monster Audio Show. Back when the Mickey Mouse Club was still filmed at the Disney-MGM Studios. Anyone remember the live poachers with guns at Kilimanjaro Safari? I certainly do! The original lobby of the Contemporary. It looks radically different now. One of the floors at the Contemporary, way back when. The Top of the World, jazz singers and all. And the old game room at the Contemporary. The original look of a standard room at the Contemporary Resort. A restaurant that no longer exists at the Polynesian Resort. Anyone remember the name? The Fort Wilderness Railroad while it was still in operation. Later on, several of the passenger cars were reutilized as ticket booths for Pleasure Island. Those booths were later removed and replaced with non-functional replicas. And then there was Discovery Island...

(Continued) The Magic Kingdom's Mainstreet USA continues to take shape... This photo was taken by Dave Smith on the first day that the tarmac asphalt was poured on Mainstreet. Would you believe that this is the Crystal Palace? Any idea what this is? If you guessed Jungle Cruise, you were right. These trellises were only at the attraction for its inaugural year before they were removed. This is the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse before it became a treehouse. Another classic attraction... You don't get to see the Haunted Mansion like this very often. A very clever photo. Since the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Haunted Mansions were being developed around the same time, the animatronic figures were created together in batches. A soon-to-be-demolished Fantasyland Skyway station being built. Roy Disney stands before a mid-construction Cinderalla Castle. Fun fact: Mainstreet's facilities were built as whole buildings with facades added later to divide each "store." In reality, all of the stores are contained in one building on each of the two sides of Mainstreet. The castle forecourt being built up. And the topping off... Getting closer now. Notice the Utilidors entrance at the bottom of the photo? Believe it or not, this was the show building for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Tomorrowland in development... And the first prototype Swan Boat in place in the water near the entrance to Tomorrowland. Is this the space shuttle platform? Here are the Contemporary's rooms assembled and ready to drop (or rather, slide) into place. They can remove these any day and replace them, right? *wink* One of the first monorails being delivered to the Walt Disney World monorail barn. Speaking of the monorail barn... That's no moon... That's a Space Station. Thunder Mountain before the rockwork was fleshed out... And Splash Mountain as it was being built. I think most of you have seen this photo before, but I'll include it for good measure. ^Ditto. World of Motion as it was being rounded out. Notice the support column base for the little rotation the ride used to do near the entrance. Best I not comment. The Living Seas, sans Seas. The entrance of the Disney-MGM Studios gets some work... This is the western scene in the Great Movie Ride being built. Sunset Boulevard under development. The oil rig that became Disney's Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life. The first family to be welcomed into the Walt Disney World Resort. This makes me smile. As does this... Here's the Frontierland Railroad Station, pre-Splash Mountain. The Country Bear Jamboree has has a few seasonal overlays in the past. The Mike Fink Keel Boats are another long lost attraction from Yesterland. Before it became Cinderella's Royal Table. The Mickey Mouse Revue...

(Continued) A little insight into the design of the zero car. Zero to Cable. Okay, so these are supply cables for the stators. What's this? Something looks very odd here. Do these not look like MACK spinners, or is it just me? This explains things a little better, but I'm really curious now to see if this tower was ever conceptualized for another ride system. Intamin has history here at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Footage from the pre-construction period is displayed on this screen, including some of the earlier promotional interviews done around the time of the ride's initial announcement. Yep! You can touch it! Now this... This is a cool picture frame! Benny of the French Foreign Legion found it amusing that I stood at the bridge just waiting for a train to pass by so I could take a photo. A fun little character he was. Dive! Dive! Dive! The burst of speed on this launch is just fantastic. Kasi has grown to be a little bigger now. Cheetah Run! (Okay, not really.) Dropping off of the Windcatcher Tower... Like I said in the Construction Tour photo report, I knew I wouldn't likely be getting close to the track like I had ever again. That being said, the launch track is extremely close to the guest path. Burst mode is my friend. Zero to Cheetah. This area is Cheetah Run. Like with most of their animal exhibits, they had a trainer out on the intercom able to tell guests about the cheetahs and answer questions. What goes up... Must come down... They also brought out two full grown cheetahs. I'm already getting used to this sight! Splash! at work. Something I really love about Cheetah Hunt? How it dives in and out of the line of sight along the Edge of Africa. Moving out towards Rhino Rally, we have some great photo ops. Although it isn't always easy to get the perfect photo. An unintentionally artsy photo. These days, it wouldn't be an Adam Roth report without the signature "two thumbs up" photo. This ride truly has some amazing guest interactions. Over the Skyride we go! Cheetah gonna eat the Skyride... Flipsy daisy! "Going up to the cheetah in the sky..." Time to head back! The brush surrounding Rhino Rally Canyon has been cleared to allow for some great photo ops! Just hangin' around. Nothing but air. "Hold the phone guys... I'm not a cheetah." Sleepy cat is sleepy. Thanks for reading!

After hearing such great reviews come out of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay regarding their newest addition Cheetah Hunt, I knew I couldn't contain myself until Tuesday (I'll be going back tomorrow too) to try it out. So, in a last minute, by-the-fly call, I drove out to the park with a friend on Memorial Day weekend to go Cheetah Hunting myself. The ride is really fun and not too intense. The launches all took me by surprise, perhaps because of the initial force behind each push. The ride has some insane moments of airtime that rival those strange ones found on some of Orlando's other coasters (like Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit). The Crossroads of Culture serves as a fantastic environ for the new attraction and manages to transition into all three surrounding realms quite smoothly, making for a more immersive experience. While we didn't see any cheetahs run at Cheetah Run, we did get to see Kasi and Mtani, as well as two elder cheetahs as they were brought out into the area for basic training procedures. Also of note, for the first time since Jungala (I believe), there is a large number of characters out and about in the area. I saw French Foreign Legion soldiers walking about, explorers roaming the Crossroads and a few Middle Eastern-warriors guarding the broken arches of the area. A beautiful touch that really does add more character and charm to the already wonderful new area of the park. We got to the park for opening and Cheetah Hunt already had a 180 minute wait. The first train with guests for the day... Looked pretty exciting from the start. They began to funnel guests into these temporary switchbacks as the line grew longer. Minutes after this photo was taken, the wait time was upped to 210 minutes. The test seat even features a scaled down version of the ride's stylized nose. I would've gotten a photo, but considering how long the line was, I just wanted to stay in my place. Giving you prior notice, there will be some Larry love here. Cheetah Hunt has been added to the park map, and it looks pretty good! Up close, there were a few details on the new entrance facade that I hadn't noticed before. As of current, Cheetah Hunt is not on the Quick Queue or Quick Queue Unlimited systems. The old Monorail queue looks similar and different. Along the queue area are some Cheetah Hunt factoids for your reading pleasure. And since the construction tour, the Cheetah Rock (yes, that's what Mark Rose called it) has taken its form. A look at the Cheetah Hunt side of the building. The other side is used by the reopened Skyride. They really did a masterful job of merging the old Monorail building's architecture with the new Cheetah Hunt style. Left is old and right is new. Glimpses of the ride can be seen from various angles within the queue. You'll be happy to know I photographed every one of the 57 signs in the queue and will be sharing them here. Okay, not really that many, but I did get all of them. Okay, not really that many, but I did get all of them. Fifty percent of the time it works, every time. Stats for those who care to read. We're getting closer... They have some really cool sconces on the columns. Remember that rumor that Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was developing new walk around characters for use in the park? Well that was true. Here is one. He was walking up and down the queue, entertaining guests. The Skyride has received an updated regulations sign to better fit the new theme of the building. What about science? Contain your excitement folks. The control booth is expertly blended into the station. In case you were wondering. As of yesterday, the video system was not yet online. We waited in this and more for nearly two hours, but it was worth it. Splash!, an artist group creates paintings on a stage outside of the ride's building, which can later be purchased in the gift shop. Not sure if this was for sale, but it looks pretty cool. They had a great little exhibit tucked in the back corner of the gift shop. Got Footers? Really? Really? Can I? Please! Please! Pretty interesting stuff! I heart Intamin. For those that like schematics...