jedimaster1227

(Continued) They now sell a LEGO model of the classic sea serpent found along the shore of the store. If you hadn't been to the old store, you wouldn't know where the old storefront ended and the expanded storefront began. I believe this room can be rented out for private parties... Not only have the number of registers in the store increased, but they all now have queues to better manage the lines. LittleMissMatched has moved into Summer Sands' old spot. Back in DisneyQuest, I saw something reminiscent of a favorite movie of mine... "Biodigital Jazz, man..." Hiya Larry! Howdy Larry! I didn't know these had cubes in them... I love my camera... The Score! Zone is home to a very large collection of arcade games, as well as the Ride the Comix simulator, the Mighty Ducks Spinball game and Invasion! An ExtraTerrorestrial Alien Encounter. The Cave of Wonders is the inspiration for the entrance to the Explore Zone. Time to finish where we started... Thanks for reading folks!

(Continued) I've always been fascinated with this fibre-optic ceiling... A look at one end of the Create Zone. I remember I made a demented robot skeleton during my first visit to DisneyQuest which I subsequently bought. Pretty cool stuff! The Explore Zone has the most "attractions" out of all of the DisneyQuest zones. Oh, those snap-on helmets... I've always enjoyed this one, but could never beat it. This ride is basically the predecessor to Toy Story Mania... I like it a lot, but I miss the Hercules attraction that was here before. The old Mayan Temple Jeeps and the transparent floor maze were recently removed, and the area now hosts jungle-themed arcade games. And since they added Jambo Safari, I've perfectly fine with the loss of a few remote controlled jeeps! Clever! I've got to give the Imagineers credit... The Ventureport is a very cool concept! I finally figured out how to play with the ISOs on my camera. Woot! There used to be a slide here, but no more. D-Street has received its permanent marquee, and it looks great! LittleMissMatched has moved from its former location in the former Starabilia's building to the Marketplace location formerly home to Summer Sands. Keeping up with the Downtown Disney switcheroo, Harley-Davidson will be moving from its Pleasure Island location to the space previously occupied by Mickey's Groove and LittleMissMatched. I think it was wise to combine the two storefronts here... The original AMC Theatres entrance has been heavily modified, as it will serve as the entrance to the newly modified Dine-In Theatres. Think full service dining and full service bar, meets the moviegoing experience. Looks classy! I'll definitely be trying this at least once! Looks like it'll be ready to open very soon! Back in Pleasure Island, the Celebration Plaza/Pleasure Island Ultra Lounge is basically empty during the day. But at night, the entertainment offerings keep people packed in. With the Rock and Roll Beach Club and Motion demolished, we've got a very different view from here. Work on the amphitheater has not yet begun, but a good deal of grass and sod has been placed in the clubs' former plots. There'll be a path here eventually. Minor construction continues in the formerly-backstage area. The Lily Pad has been covered with plants and planters... The walls are down and the LEGO Imagination Center has reopened, featuring several new and incredible LEGO models depicting famous Disney scenes. Awesome! It feels completely different with the rounded building! Awe! Wow! *jaw drops* Time for the Coup d'Etat! Simply amazing! And the classic LEGO family from the original store have been updated to feature more Disney touches. Are we in the same store??? There is SOOOO much space! This is so nice!

So I figured it was time to shift my focus from Magic Kingdom to the rest of the Walt Disney World Resort... Lets take a look at Disney's Hollywood Studios, as well as Downtown Disney! California Adventure down the road... The old posters at Star Tours have been removed, and the whole building has received a new, grey paint job. It actually looks really nice! Tatooine Traders has re-opened... Note: These are Disney toys, not Hasbro or Kenner. Work is being done on the exit to Star Tours. But aside from the fresh coat of paint, this basically looks the same. The old photo backdrop for Darth Vader has been removed and the front gate to Star Tours' entrance closed. I have a feeling we won't be getting Disneyland's Gonk Droid FastPass machines here... Bummer! Not too long ago, this photo backdrop was added for meet and greets and photopass photos. The Monster's Inc. Meet & Greet was closed while we were here... I don't think I've ever been in this building! Work in the back corner of the park is underway in preparation of two new meet & greets. This one will be a new Cars 2 meet & greet, replacing the old one. And the other... Should be interesting! What's this? Mulch, Sweat n' Shears was out and about today... A poster for the new Pirates of the Caribbean has shown up on the Backlot. Looks good to me! Over at One Man's Dream, the newer exhibit at the end has been slightly touched up. Figment's innards have now been covered with this nice little tuxedo. Dreamfinder Forever. Veggie fruit fruit. Veggie veggie fruit fruit... Somewhere over the interwebs, a tear is shed. One Man's Dream recently received one of the California Adventure makeover models, although this appears to be an early one. This is supposed to be California Screamin's new station. No scream tunnels and no sunburst. And a "lush park" in the place of the new drop towers that were to have replaced the Maliboomer. And the remodeled cover for King Triton's Carousel. Over in the Art of Animation building, Toy Story 3's exhibit prepares to wrap up its run. Most of the Toy Story items have been replaced with Winnie the Pooh or Cars 2. Lotso's meet and greet is still here, but will soon be replaced by a Winnie the Pooh meet. An interesting souvenir collectors can buy at the exit of the gift shop. The Little Einstein characters seemed to be pretty popular for the families... Countdown to Fun: Pixar Play Parade has reversed its direction, now starting from Star Tours, finishing at the entrance of the park. The old blocks from Block Party Bash were painted over to allow for better tie-ins to the characters they hosted. Ratatouille was an addition to the parade courtesy of Countdown to Fun. Since there are no show stops, the inside of the Monster's Inc. float remains closed. Dug from Up! is also in the show. As is Carl! Moving over to Downtown Disney, new promotional banners have gone up to tie the area into the resort-wide promotion. Let the Memories Begin! Cirque du Soleil will go dark for two weeks later this year, likely for a general refurbishment and tweaking of the show. Haven't been in here in a while! The Cybrolators are currently closed, so guests enter through a side door to the exit area.

While we appreciate you sharing these photos, your trip report is in violation of our posting rules. Your photos must be resized to be no larger than 800 by 600 pixels. I'd recommend uploading them directly to Theme Park Review's forums as well so as to prevent them from disappearing as many Photobucket photos do.

^That link doesn't seem to be working for me.

I've done a quick news scan and found nothing regarding this, so I wouldn't be sure yet... Especially considering the people I've spoken to at the Hurricane were more focused on the music coming from their headphones than they were about operating the ride. Even if this is true, it is possible that the ride could remain open throughout the process. Or it could just be bought buy Boomers! and then they could move forward with that water park expansion they had talked about a few years ago...

Several of your photos are not showing up. If you were to upload them to the forums directly rather than using Imageshack, you wouldn't have to worry about them disappearing.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110427/WILLIAMSON12/304270037/Mayor-Theme-park-project-isn-t-dead http://www.tennessean.com/article/20110427/WILLIAMSON12/304270044/Planning-commissioner-replaced-amid-criticism-over-theme-park

Holiday World has sent us a press release about this year's "Holiday World Walk to Cure Diabetes."

(Continued) Awe! Here they go again! Are you ready to get wet? And the Shamu Chant returns! Shamu! Shamu! Shamu! Shamu! Tilly! Deep Impact. Cannonball! One of the many new fountains that has been installed in Shamu Stadium. It all blends so well! The choir is scattered throughout the crowd. Dive! Dive! Dive! And now we come to a close... And scene! Such a great day! This trainer used to be the main male trainer for Believe. Just for the first showing, the finale of One Ocean triggered the dropping of these banners. Certainly a nice touch! The main marquee has been updated to reflect the new show's arrival. After the show, the killer whales were allowed to relax in the main pool. The behavior trainers have retained the old Believe costumes for use in between shows. Time to look at the tech behind the new fountains! So long! Another fountain, up close. A look at some of the new decor details. And this was the line for the third show of the day.

Here are the remainder of the photos I took during the two shows at the 'One Ocean' Media Day! I see some stars ready for the show to start! Needless to say, the first show was packed! While waiting for the show to begin, guests were clapping along to the music. The same pre-show energy still exists at this new Shamu! Interesting! Wicked! The behind the scenes video had some great production value and helped the time pass by while waiting for the show. It is almost time! Here we go! As final preparation for the show was underway, ads for Discovery Cove and Aquatica played on the screens. Such a fun set of slides! I've gotta get back here! I haven't had a chance to ride Roa's Rapids, but I've heard nothing but great things! You don't say! It's time to thank our heroes... Jack Hanna and the resort's president before the grand opening kickoff seen in the video in the original post. The visuals in One Ocean flow seamlessly. I don't know why, but I love the look of this one! It's time to start! Logo fade... One of the inspired adults from the beginning of the show leads children in a whale-watching tour. Woosh! It never fails to impress. The screens still rotate, and in this show it works just as well! Just a little bit of dancing here and there... Just chillin'... Off he goes!

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=58398&start=20#p1019440

Maybe it is just me, but all of this talk about Mag-Levs, high-speed rails and propulsion has me think LIMs...

^^Basically, they have reworked the queue setup starting from a little before where the old turnstiles used to be. From there, a dividing fence of sorts splits the queue off in two directions: to the left is the new interactive queue, and to the right is the direct approach which goes down the same path you normally go in, heading directly to the doors before going into the foyer. Guests are told by a cast member at the divide what the split is (although as of right now there is no signage to delineate with) and they decide from there. If they decide to take the new path, they move out into the newly carved out square on the hillside of the mansion. Similar to Pooh and less like what has been shown for what Dumbo will be, the new area still is a queue. It still has a general line to it, and a sequence you follow from sight to sight. It is more open, much like Pooh, so that you can pull off as you are intended to in order to experience each aspect, but you are still meant to keep moving in line (which did make it difficult for those curious like me to stop, try everything and even get photos). The line is still constantly moving, and if someone stops ahead, people either wait and slow the line, or go around the stop. You start from the divider and immediately have the family of busts on the right. They supposedly whisper how they killed each other, although that didn't seem to be working when we visited. Moving along the edge of the queue, we have the tombstones for Marc Davis and Francis Xavier, followed by the first mausoleum. This is the musical one with the instruments on both sides, as well as the organ in the middle. To the right of this mausoleum is the Master Gracey grave. You weave around the line a little bit to the captain's wet tomb followed by the last mausoleum, which has the library books on both of the long sides, the Prudence Pock gravestone door on one of the short sides and the poetry window on the other. From there, you make a final right past the Campbell tombstone and the backside of the captain's tomb, and then you merge back into the main queue, right in the section of before the doors to the Foyer. The queue itself is meant for all ages, but unlike the Pooh queue where you can really roam back and forth, you have to hit each sight as you go, and hop back into the natural line after you are done. Going backwards doesn't really seem to be an option here.

(Continued) One fit for a postcard. Awe! At the exit of the Town Square Theater gift shop, they are now selling ear hats. This includes the WDW 40th Anniversary ear hat with buttons included. Slick! As was mentioned earlier in this thread, this space has become a second location for Le Chapeau sales. I remember Pete's Dragon. Do you? The park was so busy, the had a backstage route set up from Mainstreet USA to Tomorrowland. I hadn't been back here since my Backstage Magic tour in 2008. The Disney touch. Easter eggs on the path blocks! And a new banner advertising the Town Square Theater to let Cast Members know to check it out. Back to the Haunted Mansion we go! The temporary Adventureland bridge has been removed now that the main bridge is open again. I had to walk around the park carrying a giant Stitch plush, as my big brother wanted nothing more for his birthday. Can't you see how thrilled I am? And a quick stop at the Mainstreet Firehouse to close this update.

(Continued) The graveyard has been expanded out and down near the new queue. The world may never know... The backstory created both by Imagineers and years of fan lore has been integrated into the queue. Captain Culpepper Clyne's tomb is filled with water and is constantly leaking. Guests plug the holes, and on occasion the captain sneezes spraying water into the air. There is no unthemed section of this queue. That explains it... Clever. The other mausoleum features a double-sided library of sorts, similar to the one inside of the ride. The books pop out and guests can push them back in. Notice the glyphs? The spell out a certain message. The pattern of the books popping out is unpredictable at best. A closer look at a few of the glyphs... Note: the rose wasn't a part of the theming. Someone placed it there. Prudence Pock's spirit guides this exhibit. You must finish it... Before she does. The cornerstones of the mausoleum resemble a design found inside of the Mansion (pictured later). The new queue is certainly popular with guests! And now we merge back into the main queue. The other side of the graveyard. Notice the cornerstone design I pointed out earlier in the mausoleum? It is featured above the busts. 260 minutes??? The walkway to ToonTown is still wholly unchanged. Time for some amazing dinner at Tony's! I had never eaten inside before, but the details are nice. Considering I couldn't eat bread or pasta (Passover and all), I decided to start with the tomato soup which was amazing. I then had the lamb shank which was also incredible. Unlike Bryan, I love the Mainstreet Electrical Parade. Parades mean no waits for the Town Square Theater meet and greets. Time to go see Mickey! YES. And a great surprise, Minnie was there too!

Well, during the filming of the first new episode of the Bryan and Adam Show in over a year, I had a chance to grab some photos of the latest changes at the Magic Kingdom that had happened since my previous visit... [coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=Sequence_01_5dhx[/coastertube] The Town Square Theater looks great as ever! While still largely under wraps, a section of the Mainstreet Confectionary has been revealed, showing off a new blue and white color scheme. It looks nice! The Tomorrowland Terrace is still open for business... Not much has changed over at The Barnstormer/The Great Goofini. The walls for the new queue building for the dueling Dumbos have risen quickly. Notice that the flag has been stripped and the side of the building's tower is being redone? It seems to me that Wisacre Farms isn't going anywhere when the Storybook Circus comes to town. With nothing visible behind it, it feels like the wall has been moved forward, but it hasn't. Expect major progress to begin here soon. This still looks relatively the same. The old Toon Town Fair tent isn't going anywhere. A good deal of concrete in the area has been dug up. Yum! Tigger and Winnie the Pooh have meeting guests here as of late. Tigger's Bouncy Place is still closed. I really hope they figure out a way to reopen this, as it looked like such a fun concept. If not, there is plenty of room to install something new, or at least expand the main queue out a little further. Unfortunately, several of the produce horns have been cut or ripped open, leaving them inoperable. Hidden Mickey in the house... As well as the 20,000 Leagues tribute! Considering the phase of construction they are at, I was extremely surprised to see Beast's castle facade installed so early. The old pin cart from Toon Town has been relocated to Fantasyland for the time being. Rockwork around Maurice's Cottage has gone up quickly. And the framework for the cottage seems to be nearly complete. When the area is complete, the forced-perspective should work great! An overview of Belle's side of Fantasyland. You wouldn't believe it folks... We actually got into the new queue! A tribute to Imagineer Marc Davis. The masoleum has instrument panels on both of its sides. This side, are the possessed instruments found within the ride. When touched, they play the familiar Grim Grinning Ghosts theme from the ride. But it isn't because the walls are touch sensitive. These sensor panels emit invisible beams of light that when interrupted (both horizontally and vertically) trigger the proper sound from the properly located instrument. The organ also plays Grim Grinning Ghosts, with reactive keys that spray air. When keyed, the skulls and pipes spray mist from their mouths as the notes are emitted. A tribute to Thurl Ravenscroft. Very cool! The raven from the inside of the ride also appears above the organ. Here is the wet tomb of the famed Sea Captain who myth of the ride claims was the original main character of the ride's original story. On the other side of the musical mausoleum are otherworldly instruments intended to have been featured in the original concept for the Haunted Mansion, the Museum of the Strange.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9MP02600.htm

^The trainers are not in the water at all in the show. When I interviewed several of the creative heads involved in the creative process of designing and executing the show, they all confirmed that this is a dry-only show when it comes to trainers. I asked specifically if there was any accommodation or planning done to allow for changes to be made down the road, but from the sounds of it, any changes would have to be made with the introduction of an entirely new show after this one.

Leverage, says you. I think I feel a change in the wind, says I. Get ready for some Biodigital Jazz, man.

^Den of Lost Thieves is a Sally catalog dark ride.

http://blog.galveston.com/what-to-do/coming-soon-galveston-island-historic-pleasure-pier/

http://toledoblade.com/business/2011/04/22/Shareholder-questions-Cedar-Fair-s-CEO-plans.html

^The chorus was just there for the grand opening show as were the One Ocean banners that dropped down during the finale, the resort president and Jack Hanna speeches or the Spencer Lee performances (shown in the video). They walked in from all of the entrances of the theater, so they didn't take anyone's seats. Interestingly enough, there were a good many that came back for the second show to see it from the guest side rather than being a part of the performance. I took over 400 photos and 45 minutes of footage, including video of the entire show. Once the video is online, I'll post the remainder of the photos (not all 400, but a good selection), including some with trainers.