jedimaster1227

Universal Studios Hollywood has released new details about the scare zones that will be featured at Halloween Horror Nights 2019! https://www.universalstudioshollywood.com/park-tips/hhn-2019-your-first-look-at-this-years-scare-zones/

The acquisition of the New Braunfels and Galvestone Schlitterbahn water parks has completed and Cedar Fair now owns these two properties! https://www.cedarfair.com/news/article/2019-71-schlitterbahn-acquisition

Cedar Fair has completed the purchase of the land upon which California's Great America sits after leasing the land for over 43 years! https://www.cedarfair.com/news/article/2019-628-acquisition-of-land

Paultons Park has announced a new area of the park, Tornado Springs which will feature eight new attractions including a new spinning coaster called Storm Chaser! https://paultonspark.co.uk/blog/article/14318/multi-million-pound-new-themed-world-set-to-launch-at-paultons-park-in-spring-2020

(Continued) Near the Unisphere are etched tiles that (when the light hits them the right way) shows a grounds map of the 1964 World's Fair as well as that of the 1939 World's Fair. The Tower of the Four Winds! The General Electric Pavilion featuring the Carousel of Progress! No, this isn't Spaceship Earth. These tiles also reference the Exposition Universelle of 1889 in Paris... Which was neat because we were just there a few weeks earlier. Oh boy... Oh swell... I'd been warned ahead of time to brace myself for Thunderbolt. Kind of nervous... I got a train to myself... Making eight other people wiser than me. Picturesque but man does this ride jostle you... Some super weird transitions into each of the inversions. Just a weird coaster. I'm bummed that none of the proposals to revisit using the Parachute Jump structure's designed purpose ever went forward. I do like the updated feel of Luna Park/Coney Island compared to what I experienced a decade earlier. Steeplechase was probably the most enjoyable of the new coasters added to Luna Park. Why do I do these things to myself? Much better. Due to bad weather in the area we opted out of riding the Wonder Wheel this time around in favor of getting on the Cyclone before it was at risk of closing during our visit. The recent retracking efforts really made a difference for this classic coaster. It still beats you around like crazy but never to the point of painfulness or discomfort. We spent most of the ride laughing just at the sheer ridiculousness of the total experience. This was a view I remembered from ten years earlier. I'd hope this coaster is maintained for many, many years to come. Also new this trip was the B&B Carousell. I had no shame riding this as an adult. There's something to appreciate about a classic, hand-carved carousel being restored to operation in this day and age. I'll be honest... There was nothing I cared about more in Coney Island than revisiting Nathan's. Last time around I only got hot dogs, not realizing until we left that the restaurant had an eclectic collection of seafood options. I might've gone hog wild... I might've. I mean, I wasn't going to come to THE Nathan's and not get a hot dog... But I also wasn't going to make the same mistake and not chance my life on Nathan's frog legs... Along with raw oysters and clams. Obviously I survived to tell the tale as I have since written this ridiculously long trip report. No regrets. Pretty sure I bought this photo less for my facial expression and more for proof that I was the only person dumb enough to fill a seat on this train. Later in the day we were sent a photo from our time in the Peacock Room at The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon. A better look at us in the audience came in the same day... We really enjoyed ourselves here! We definitely went back to the North Village on our last day to go enjoy more food... First stop, Bantam Bagels! We loved Brunetti so much from our visit during Scott's Pizza Tours that we went back for another pie! Seriously my favorite pizza I've ever had in NYC. On the way out we passed Jekyll and Hyde, the supposed spiritual sibling to the original Adventurer's Club at Walt Disney World... It was kind of dead (and underwhelming) inside and we were short on time, so I didn't stay for a drink, but I'd be curious to stop by for a drink in a future visit. The flight home ended on a good note... Old School playing live. After three weeks away, it was time to go home and sleep.

After so many days at sea, we were eager to stretch our land legs and maximize our limited time in New York before our vacation was over. It had been over a decade since I last visited New York City... In that time the Freedom Tower had been built from the ground up, Stage Deli had closed and Scott's Pizza Tours had crossed my radar. This trip was also the opportune moment to revisit Coney Island for the first time since since the TPR East Coast Trip 2008 and to stop by Flushing Meadows to visit the 1964 World's Fair grounds. We also managed to attend two tapings (Ryan and Kelly and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon), see two shows on Broadway (The Lifespan of a Fact and Phantom of the Opera) and consumed copious amounts of pizza during and after Scott's Pizza Tours. Overall it was an incredible end to the best vacation we'd ever taken... And after three weeks away from home, it was time to head back. Where does a Disney fan go when in NYC? To the Times Square Disney Store of course! Josh Groban would perform live after his interview... Thankfully he did a different song in each of the two shows we saw him on. Two stories for extra magic! Similar in look and feel to the Disney Stores around the world, but larger in size to support the higher volume of foot traffic. Soup dumplings? YES PLEASE! We should have bought more from Sugarfina when we had the chance! We did buy some of these to take home with us... We might not have been in France anymore but we weren't going to pass up a chance to have more eclairs or macarons while we could! LIVE with Ryan and Kelly was interesting because as it would turn out, Ryan wasn't here to host... Plus the guests that came to see Kelly and Tiffany Hadish (guest host for the week) would be the same guests we would see at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The two folks wearing red in the front row were us! The Freedom Tower truly is beautiful. Breathtaking... I'd heard good things... I was not disappointed! I came across Harvey & Ida's... And let me just say, this was the best pastrami sandwich I've ever eaten. Second night of previews for The Lifespan of a Fact we were able to grab cheap seats from TKTS. The show is incredibly relevant for today's times but not too in your face with the social commentary. The sets were also surprisingly inventive despite how small the show was (only three cast members). We really loved it! Neat to see the Time building up close. Next up was our first ever experience with Scott's Pizza Tours... After years of seeing Robb & Elissa share their fun times with the tours, I knew it was a must-do for our visit. We started at Brunetti, the first of three pizzerias in the North Village. See those folks in the red towards the middle of the screen? That's us watching The Tonight Show live! Our guide started by explaining the science of pizza, beginning with the importance of the dough. You really do get to learn while you nosh! Seriously, this pizza was amazing! As we were walking to the next stop on our tour we passed the brick and mortar location for Bantam Bagels! We love this Shark Tank product and get them frequently while at Starbucks! More delicious pizza of a different style to try! We ended our tour at Fiore's for a classic New York style slice! It is all about the fold! We revisited the Times Square Disney Store a second time during our time in NYC because... Why not? Chocolate World in Times Square is a delicious option for travelers not close to Hershey... Though I missed having an awesome park next door. Are these chocolates from the Dagobah system? I was very curious to give the NFL Experience a try and had planned to visit during our time in NYC. A few days before we arrived it was announced that the experience would be closing a few days after the end of our trip. Unfortunately prices were not discounted for the remainder of the time the attraction was open and I didn't feel (given the public's obvious response to the attraction) that it would be worth dropping over $70 for two of us to visit when we could put that money towards another show or more pizza. M&M World was another stop along the way... Times Square has changed a bit over the years... It was quite odd to not see the Toys R Us here. Something that hasn't changed... Even in New York, Orlando is with us. I wasn't going to pass up a chance to get Cosi while I was in town... The only Florida location we had closed over a decade ago and for this reason I've had to get my fix when traveling in the Northeast. Phantom and Frozen being located right opposite each other was interesting... Here's the thing, I'm kind of a Phantom of the Opera fanatic. I grew up on the show as a kid and I've seen it seven times throughout my life... Those showings had all been traveling versions with the exception of a performance in Toronto when I was much younger. My wife was familiar with the show because of the Schumacher movie and having seen the newest traveling version (with the more modern staging that I'm not fond of) but she'd not seen a more permanent staging before. From the moment the show starts, you notice the sheer difference in what can be accomplished in a venue that has been purposefully outfitted to support this show year round versus the traveling staging. The scale is immense by comparison and the effects, practical and technical are fantastic even being over two decades old. There's a significant practical effect hidden in this shot that is my absolute favorite. The next day we got up early to go to Queens... I'm kind of a Disney nerd... So the World's Fair was high on my list to visit this time around. I wish I could have seen the New York State Pavilion with its original stained glass roof. There's a recent movement to preserve and restore the pavilion that has actually enabled guests to explore the inside of the pavilion on select days throughout the year. Sadly none of those dates were near our trip, but I was able to peak in through one of the area fences. I didn't realize just how big the Unisphere is! I really love this structure! Like, really really love it! As a fan of the original Men in Black, getting to see these up close was a treat as well.

There's still time to sign up for this year's Coasting for Kids event at Six Flags Fiesta Texas! For a minimum donation of $100 you'll get breakfast, ERT on four fantastic coasters and a day of fun at the park, all while raising money for a great cause! Be sure to sign up for Team TPR, and if you can't attend in person, donate to one of our team members to support Give Kids The World! Six Flags Fiesta Texas: http://support.gktw.org/goto/TeamTPRSixFlagsFiestaTexas Date: Saturday, July 20 Schedule 8:30am - Registration and continental breakfast 9:30am - ERT access to Joker, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman 10:30am - All-day access to Six Flags Fiesta Texas If you end up signing up for Team TPR you can also earn some awesome prizes based on the amount of money you raise! And a special incentive for the Top 20 fundraisers for the event will be the ability to participate in the Six Flags Fiesta Texas “Clifftop Walking Tour.” This is an exclusive walking tour up on the rim of the beautiful 100-ft. quarry walls that surround the park on three sides. From there you get a birds-eye view of the huge scope of the park and a unique perspective of the Iron Rattler and Crackaxle Canyon area, and coasters such as Superman Krypton Coaster.

LEGOLAND Billund has announced that THE LEGO MOVIE World will open at the park in 2020! This new land features two attractions already found at LEGOLAND Florida, along with a new Gerstlauer Sky Fly and a children's playground! https://via.ritzau.dk/pressemeddelelse/legoland-udvider-med-the-lego-movietm-world-i-2020-og-bygger-skandinaviens-forste-flying-theater?publisherId=12878818&releaseId=13576049

It looks like last year's Terror at the Inn at the Holiday Inn Resort Orlando Suites was enough of a success to warrant a larger event! Auditions are about to begin for a new event from the people behind Dark Harbor, Dark Horizon! I really enjoyed the experience last year, so I'm hoping to see an even more in-depth, expanded concept this October!

In an interesting twist in this park's ongoing journey, The London Resort has reignited its partnership with Paramount for their intellectual property alongside BBC Studios' and ITV Studios' properties in the new park. The London Resort is now slated to open in 2024! http://londonresort.info/news/paramount-pictures-and-the-london-resort-reignite-partnership/

Check out our video from the grand opening of Island H2O Live! at Margaritaville Resort Orlando! And let us know what you think my scream sounds like with a comment below!

Is it too much to ask for a park-wide Nightmaze? Beware the moon!

Awesome report! Given how few people have actually ridden these, I appreciate the in-depth descriptions of the experience, especially knowing I'm not likely to ever get the chance to ride. Thank you for sharing!

^Thank you for posing the question! It is definitely on a lot of our minds thanks to Dueling Dragons' early demise, but it is interesting to have an opportunity to break down some of the other coasters that have survived where others have been axed at the "end of their service life." This question has definitely garnered some thoughtful conversation!

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has announced a new joint venture called Holistica, a destination development business focused on coastal destinations! http://www.rclcorporate.com/rcl-and-itm-group-launch-holistica/

The newest house for Halloween Horror Nights has been announced! https://orlando.halloweenhorrornights.com/site/hhn/details/announcements?__source=ag.TWITTER&linkId=69452708

On Friday Theme Park Review was invited to attend the Grand Opening of Island H2O Live!, the new water park at Margaritaville Resort Orlando! This water park is uniquely designed with interactive features powered by a custom mobile app that ties to an RFID wristband you wear while visiting the park. The wristband enables functions like wallet-less payments similar to what you'd find in other tech-savvy water parks, but that's about where the similarities end. Guests are incentivized to experience more throughout the water park by tapping their wristbands at each slide entrance or selfie spot, earning points along the way that can unlock more customization options or even more interesting, redeem points towards tangible rewards such as merchandise or food! The app allows guests to choose musical playlists from a wide selection of genres... These selections will actually play in some of the slides as you go through them. Similarly, guests can choose a theme from within the app that will set a color scheme to be replicated by embedded lights within some of the water park's slides. The concept is really unique and when it works, it is a fun little touch to enjoy. The park bills itself as interactive, and when these functions of the app trigger your customized selections in the slide, it certainly supports the claim! The slides at Island H2O Live! are fairly unique with very few of them existing elsewhere in the Central Florida market... Those that do are quintessential water park options like ProSlide SKYBoxes, mat racers, a lazy river and a water play structure. Otherwise, the options included set the water park apart from the established competitors in the market--there might be enough of a draw to pull people away from the other parks nearby, just by the lineup alone. Overall, Island H2O Live! manages to distinguish itself in its app/wristband integration and a roster of slides that are well worth your time! And with Margaritaville Resort Orlando and Sunset Walk steps away, Island H2O Live! manages to be a part of a true resort destination that could stand alone for a Central Florida vacation, or supplement a larger trip while you're visiting some of the big players down the road! We're here! The entrance of the water park ready to receive its grand opening guests! We've got our RFID band and we're ready to head in! The wristbands can be used to purchase food & beverages and to secure lockers, along with earning points when tapping attractions throughout the water park. Live Lagoon! is the water park's wave pool... The music playlist options you can choose from are quite extensive! As a child of the 90's I found my clear choice... And my expectations of songs that would appear on this playlist were easily met! You can also gauge wait times throughout the park from the app. We started our morning off with the Grand Opening ceremonies! Island H2O Live! has been designed with modern social media lingo-inspired attraction names... The water park is officially open! First responders were on hand for the Grand Opening ceremony including firefighters who turned the fire house into Live! Lagoon for the opening moment. Throughout the water park you'll find free selfie spots when you can later download the photo from the app to share online! A look at the water park map... Quite an impressive view! You can also see wait times on signage location throughout the park. There are a few added water features along the path of the water park's lazy river. The family water play structure features several small slides. Two huge slides, The Downloader and Hashtag Heights are two of the park's most unique attractions. Of course, the water park has several options for food and drinks. In case you're wondering... I was incredibly intrigued by the notion that riding more slides could earn you enough points to get free food! Island H2O Live! also features the newest generation of Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, allowing guests to buy a refillable cup to fill up throughout the park. The points you earn and spend can be tracked from within the app. Guests that rent the water park's cabanas will also get access to a private quiet pool. Time to approach some slides that will terrify me... I love when parks invest in the translucent slides like these! Quite a view! Hashtag Heights can really be a thrill, especially if your raft gets enough momentum to reach close to the top of the halfpipe! The lazy river wraps around the water park's other slide complexes... Some really fantastic slides to be found in this complex on the other side of the water park! Island H2O Live! is a great addition to the Central Florida market and it'll be sure to thrill guests with its lineup of attractions and unique app customization!

It is safe to say that the decision was made to scrap these rides rather than sell them for a couple of reasons... One, Dueling Dragons was an incredibly marketable attraction on its own because of the unique dueling nature of the experience. Even as a secondhand installation, being able to market a major new set of dueling coasters would be a major asset for either park. Given that NBCUniversal/Comcast has more than enough money, the benefit of scrapping the ride and not giving any other park anywhere the chance to leverage the coaster's unique attributes makes sense. Two, they didn't need to money they would have gotten from selling the coaster to any other park. That said, I think it would have been possible to see this coaster disassembled and rebuilt in either the Dubai or South Korea parks if they had gotten off of the ground... One of them did have a dueling coaster concept themed to King Kong.

Those dueling Intamins really look neat! I totally didn't expect them to have the shuttle launch elements at their start either!

This looks like a fantastic addition to the park!

Considering Vekoma has made suspended coasters of their own and Morgan has created replacement track to match the gauge used by Arrow for projects like Phantom's Revenge, there's nothing to say that an established manufacturer couldn't have created track replacements for stressed track segments. The industry has adapted over the years to have new manufacturers come in to re-track, provide new trains and rebuild braking systems for coasters. B&M provided new trains for Steel Dragon 2000, a Morgan coaster. Morgan turned Steel Phantom from a looping Arrow coaster into a custom airtime-filled Morgan coaster leveraging existing Arrow track (some more of which has been replaced by Morgan in the years since Phantom's Revenge opened). GCI and Gravity Group have both developed a supplemental business model where they adapt their trains (Millennium Flyers and Timberliners, respectively) to operate on existing wooden coasters. I have no doubt that if Busch Gardens really wanted to keep Big Bad Wolf in operation, there were available options to do so. They had to have come to a decision where they said the cost outweighed the benefit to do so.

Service life of an attraction also seems to be based on the park that has to maintain that attraction into the future... There are parks that have invested heavily in restoring and sustaining classic attractions even after manufacturers like Arrow have long since gone out of business. Other parks have simply given up or conceded that the cost did not justify a return on investment. Looking at examples of coasters retired while others in their class still exist: B&M Suspended Coasters - Dueling Dragons vs. Great Bear, Montu, Alpengeist, etc... Arrow Looping Coasters - Great American Scream Machine vs. Viper, BlueHawk, Loch Ness Monster, etc... Arrow Suspended Coasters - Big Bad Wolf and Eagle Fortress vs. Vortex, Flight Deck, Iron Dragon Arrow Launched Shuttle Loops - Revolution, Sidewinder and Diamond Back vs. Afterburner, Boomerang (Tokyo Dome City), etc... The list goes on... Ultimately, the return on investment for maintaining older coasters versus putting the capital towards new attractions is a choice that park management gets to make when deciding what lives and dies in their park. Dueling Dragons and the re-tracking of The Incredible Hulk at Universal (which for all intents and purposes was practically a new coaster from a build standpoint) are rare examples of a park cutting the proven shelf life of an operating attraction short. With several B&M coasters of similar sorts within 1.5 hours driving distance (Kumba, Montu and Kraken) all close in age to the coasters above that were removed, there is no reason to believe that they were in need of dire, costly support that would have justified the effort from a maintenance standpoint... I think particularly in the case of Dueling Dragons, the "end of service life" was the best justification they could try to come up with in order to remove two perfectly good (let's be real, exceptional) high thrill attractions to be replaced with one seemingly solid family attraction. I see no reason why you couldn't have seen Dueling Dragons disassembled and rebuilt elsewhere to have the coasters operate for several decades more if given the chance. The decision to pull them seemed motivated by the need for the space... Not to mention the fact that it was always highly rumored that JK Rowling hated this coaster existing in her land.

It is definitely a great addition to the evening landscape in Central Florida... And the best part is, it is included in park admission for the day, so you can enjoy the park's normal offerings throughout the day and then cap it off with Electric Ocean!

Last night TPR was invited to attend a kick-off event for this year's Electric Ocean at SeaWorld Orlando! Electric Ocean is the park's Summer event featuring special food and decor along with several evening versions of the animal shows they offer throughout the day. These special entertainment offerings are not just the normal daytime shows with nighttime lighting, but totally different experiences with unique stories, music and animal behaviors (plus a bit of what you love from each of the normal shows). The event is incredibly well organized in that the shows are presented in a logical order and timed in a way that allows you to have ample time to grab a seat at each theater, catch the show and move (with time to spare) between venues to catch the next show. By the end of the evening you will have been able to experience up to four special shows, plus enjoyed the park's many attractions, special food booths and a glowing atmosphere that transforms sections of the park in a unique way. There's a great repeatability to Electric Ocean thanks to the added variety of entertainment, culinary options and club atmosphere. New this year to the event is Club R&R, a lounge environment set up in the Nautilus Theater. The venue has a more chill feel compared to Club Sea Glow, offering a more relaxed place to grab a drink set to a fun beat. Electric Ocean runs on select nights from May 24th through September 1st, so be sure to check out the park this Summer to experience all that the event has to offer! Tonight we’re at SeaWorld Orlando to experience an evening of unique offerings at Electric Ocean! Don’t forget that this Summer you can enjoy free beer at SeaWorld Orlando! Touch the Sky is a great way to kick off an evening of Electric Ocean fun at SeaWorld Orlando! The SeaWorld Orlando Electric Ocean fun continues as we wait for Shamu’s Celebration: Light Up The Night to begin! Extreme Beam performs a laser-bending show at Club Sea Glow! With fire, lasers, water and fireworks, Ignite is the perfect finale for Electric Ocean at SeaWorld Orlando! Freshly made gyros are available during the event as well! Seriously folks, these are the best. Time to experience some of the special Electric Ocean entertainment found during the event at SeaWorld Orlando! Touch the Sky is a special Electric Ocean exclusive show at Dolphin Theater offered in additional the regular Dolphin Days show that runs during the day! The Electric Ocean shows are presented in an order that allows guests to experience each one without having to choose, moving in a coordinated order from venue to venue ending at Bayside Stadium for Club Sea Glow and Ignite at the end of the night. The SeaWorld Mime has returned to SeaWorld Orlando for Sea Lions Tonite at Electric Ocean! It is great to see this classic character brought back for this special event! Sea Lions Tonite parodies all of the daytime shows offered at SeaWorld Orlando! This show is one of several entertainment offerings exclusive to Electric Ocean! They even poke fun at a few attractions! They have their own take on the Shamu show too! "You'll get this joke later tonight!" I've always appreciated that each year Sea Lions Tonite is updated with content as it relates to the current experiences at SeaWorld Orlando. Mako is available to enjoy throughout the evening! Don't miss out on the chance to get some delicious frozen drinks at Club R&R! Club R&R is a new addition to ElectricOcean! Guests can enjoy a lounge atmosphere while grabbing a drink in the Nautilus Theater! Roughly every 20 minutes, a "moment" happens with lighting, bubbles, snow and more! Infinity Falls thrills Electric Ocean guests into the evening! New recycled goods artwork has debuted at the park! Construction has begun on the 2020 coaster over near Mango Joe's and Wild Arctic... Though it is just getting started. As the sun sets and Electric Ocean ramps up at SeaWorld Orlando guests can continue to enjoy the park’s fantastic coasters! Shamu’s Celebration: Light Up The Night is a high-energy, Electric Ocean take on the traditional Shamu show! Throughout the evening at Club Sea Glow, variety performers will put on mini-shows interspersed with guests being able to dance at the club. This will never cease to amaze. It wouldn’t be a Shamu show without the audience getting soaked in the Splash Zone! Thanks to SeaWorld Orlando for hosting us for another wonderful kickoff to a new season of Electric Ocean! This is one of the best ways to experience SeaWorld Orlando and a great reason to return if you're looking to experience different entertainment than you normally find in the park throughout the year! The event runs on select nights from May 24th through September 1st, so there's plenty of time to come out to the park to enjoy it all for yourself! Club Sea Glow serves as a dance club pre-show experience for Ignite, the Electric Ocean finale fireworks spectacular at SeaWorld Orlando! Always a highlight of Electric Ocean! Ignite caps off the evening with no shortage of fireworks! I'm pretty sure they call this show Ignite, mostly due to the amount of pure FIRE they blast during the show! The Electric Ocean festival path near Club Sea Glow has some neat decor! BBQ Sundaes in mason jars and they are delicious! We’re sampling some of the fantastic culinary options available at Electric Ocean... Starting with fresh Mini Donuts! The Fried Mac & Cheese Bites are delicious!

As our cruise was winding down (and the last stop on our Grand European Adventure was winding up), it was time to enjoy one final day at sea aboard the Disney Magic... Which meant more food, more fun and an unforgettable end to our 11 night Transatlantic Cruise! Mimosas and bellinis to start our report? Where must we be? I like cheese. Palo Brunch of course! All the cheese. I cried happy tears. Serious folks, there are few finer experiences at sea than Palo Brunch. All you care to enjoy Iberico Ham. Dig in. A seafood lover's paradise... As it was mine. The dessert options are equally amazing. I started with a modest set of selections from the buffet... Palo Brunch also includes a selection of all-you-care-to-enjoy made-to-order entrees. The Chicken Parmigiana is easily the best I've had anywhere. Magic in every sip! The calzones are incredible! Dessert is always my favorite portion of the experience... Particularly the champagne jello with fresh berries. I've now seen this statue in two locations... More clarification on that to follow in a future trip report. Near Rapunzel's Royal Table is a hallway with these sketches... They were kept as a nod to the rotational dining venue that came before, Parrot Cay. I love this space on the ship. Quite an atrium! There were plenty of merchandise options for our cruise! I might've brought a lot of this stuff home with me... I might've. Also new was a series of 20th anniversary merchandise for Disney Cruise Line. I could never get tired of this view! I love the way the loading platform for Twist 'n' Spout is hidden in the ship's funnel. Schwarma! So cool! Build a bowls were also a hit for our trip! Taking in the sea for one more day! Mesmerizing... Such a fun family slide! And something a little more thrilling. Homeward bound! These two are the best! Animation Magic at Animator's Palate is the most incredible dining experience Disney Cruise Line has dreamed up for their rotational dining venues. You create your own character (this was my poor attempt at an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit drawing) and later in the meal you see your character come to life like magic. Animator's Palate really transforms for the experience! Hey, I recognize that poorly drawn rabbit! Seeing your art dance with the Disney characters is seriously amazing. Hanging out with the Captain! Time to say farewell to our friends... It isn't so long... It's just a "See ya real soon!" Early the next morning (4:00 AM) I huddled towards the bow of the ship to brave the bracing wind for a unique view... New York City greeted us with a warm glow... My first time seeing the Freedom Tower in person. And Lady Liberty greets us in the harbor like she has for so many travelers before. The experience of sailing into New York City is worth the cruise alone. There's something moving about the experience that I simply cannot describe. It happened so fast, but I will never forget this experience. To give you an idea of how close you get... This was a view I could dream to for a few more hours... After a quick breakfast, it was time to disembark. It was genuinely strange to disembark the ship for the last time... For two and a half weeks we had been in Europe and sailing... The longest vacation we'd ever taken together (and when it was over, the longest I'd ever taken, topping the TPR East Coast/Behemoth Bash tour combo by two days) and the ship had been our home for a good portion of the adventure. The Cast and Crew went out of their way to make this the most incredible voyage I'd taken. The food, the entertainment, the ports, the unexpected surprises. It was hard to believe there was still more vacation ahead, knowing how incredible everything that had come before had been. We dropped our stuff off and proceeded to explore the city, trying first to see if we could squeeze in tickets for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, having tried and failed for the lotteries for the London and New York versions of the show on the same trip. Needless to say, we didn't get in. Tickets are outrageously priced, even for last minute availability. We really wanted to see this show but for the money we didn't spend to see it in London or New York, we managed to see two shows in London and two in New York... I'm just going to blame our luck on the Pepsi truck out front. We've arrived... The final installment of this Grand Adventure is coming soon!