jedimaster1227

We woke up the following morning to an email from the Anheuser-Busch Brewery advising that due to Winter Storm Gia that the brewery would not open for the safety of the staff and guests originally scheduled to visit that day. It was a bit of a disappointment considering that this was a main point of our itinerary, but we totally understood the reasoning behind it. With our main attraction now canceled for the day, we started to try to figure out where else we could go, which as it turned out, there weren't many options because the brewery wasn't alone in closing. The snow from the night before and the expected snow throughout the day had led to many of the city's attractions, shops and restaurants remaining closed for the day. We weren't ones to let that stop us so we called up anything that caught our eye and threw together a day to make lemonade with the lemons we'd been given. The streets had been cleared in the morning but not many people were out and about. Rooster, a local cafe was open and started us off with an awesome breakfast. We found a local escape room that looked high tech and theatrical and it turns out that they would be open for a few hours before the snow picked up again. St. Louis Escape also had a series of pinball machines to enjoy. Pinball is a recent fascination of mine that I can attribute to our recent visit to Free Play Florida and these three pinball machines were all there at that event! About a ten minute walk away was the 4 Hands Brewery and they too were open. So while we didn't get to the Busch Brewery we did get to enjoy some quality beer this weekend. The brewery had some games upstairs and I somehow made the scoreboard for Galaga... I can't imagine that this is a high score. Still a snowy landscape outside... As more of the city began to close we found a local AMC Theater that was still open, so we decided to see Aquaman... Even in St. Louis, we were able to catch a familiar advertisement in the theaters... We found a highly recommended restaurant, The Shaved Duck for dinner and had some quality jambalaya. St. Louis-style ribs, shaved tri-tip, burnt ends and amazing mac and cheese. It was incredible! The weather had finally calmed down enough to walk around the Gateway Arch. This snowman didn't fare too well. The Gateway Arch was closed during this weekend, not because of the weather... Well, you know. I didn't realize that the Gateway Arch was a considered a National Park. The pavement was so much warmer than the cold air outside that steam was coming off of the floor. A different view of City Hall as our trip finished up... One last look. As we made our way out of the airport this caught my eye and I couldn't help but laugh. Even getting on the plane the snow tried to follow us home. While the weather wasn't what we planned to experience and a few of our intended stops had to be cancelled, we still had a great time in the city and would definitely come back to experience more in the future!

It has been my experience over the last six months or so that the park has been busier than it was in the post-Blackfish slump. The special events have really driven the locals back to the park and more often than not, my visits have had me parking no closer than in line with the Ports of Call entrance, if not farther back. Most of the rides that the park has (save for Antarctica and Wild Arctic) are fairly high capacity, so the wait times may appear lower (20 minutes or so) for most of the major rides despite how many people are actually in the park. Infinity Falls has been pulling between 45 and 75 minutes waits most days I've visited since it opened.

Get ready for a great read from a horrific source! Many of you have experienced his work... J. Michael Roddy, a creative mind behind years of Halloween Horror Nights scares (and the original face of Jack the Clown) has assembled a new book that allows readers to peek behind the curtain of the horror industry with interviews from artists, designers and storytellers. The book even features a foreword by horror legend Tom Savini! Fans of horror will be intrigued by the accounts found within, with over 30 contributors that have shared their experiences for readers to enjoy! Pretty much anyone who is a fan of the haunt industry, and especially events like Halloween Horror Nights need to check out this collection of stories. It gives a great insight as to the behind the scenes as well as the crazy deranged minds of the talented people who create those events that thrive on making us scream! The book is now available for purchase on Amazon so be sure to check it out!

I prefer Shanghai's version over any of the classics, but Pirates in Paris is actually my favorite take on the original, followed by California's. Thank you for another great report with us!

I believe that if the market called for it, the state would justify having more parks... Carowinds is the largest draw from a regional park standpoint, but there are several other size-able parks within a reasonable drive/flight that also pull guests from the state. I think for the market, North Carolina has with Carowinds (I know, on the border) and several smaller parks/attractions, all it can support at this time, given its proximity to so many large attractions within the relative spheres of influence for general public guests.

Kennywood has shared even more great photos as construction on The Steel Curtain continues!

After the St. Louis Zoo and Pappy's, things started to get interesting as warnings started to go out about large amounts of snow and much of the cities' attractions, restaurants and roads shutting down early as a result. When we had booked our trip, the City Museum was one of our must-do's on the list, thanks very much in part to TPR's coverage of the unique attraction over the years. With this in mind, we took our chances and Uber'd over to the City Museum. On our way, the attraction posted on Facebook that it would be closing early for the safety of its team members and guests (an incredibly admirable move by the way) but that they would be open til 5:00 PM. We arrived at 2:30 PM and were delighted to find that we would be allowed in for free for the remaining 2.5 hours of operation. While not enough time to experience everything, this was our chance to visit for fear that the next day (our last in the city) it would not reopen and we would have missed our opportunity to explore... From the moment you enter the City Museum, there's nothing "ordinary" about the place. This experience is FILLED with free-roam spaces to walk, run, slide, climb and crawl through... Almost anything is fair game if you can access it. Sadly due to it being Winter (and the snow), the outdoor section was not open to explore. But it certainly looked cool! While there aren't many directions (or maps) given out for the City Museum, the one thing that they will tell you if you ask is how to get to the two ten-story slides... You have to go down through the caverns to get up into the space where those slides are. Then you walk up ten stories worth of steps... This is about half way up, where they have a five story slide for the less brave or the younger guests. You know how they say don't look down? with a set a bad knees the kneepads came in handy while here... They were available to purchase for $6 a pair and well worth it for an old kid like me. The City Museum is filled with different antiques, oddities and exhibits with little rhyme or reason to their placement, design or purpose... But it is all super cool! Terrifying. Very cool, though I don't know that I can articulate why for. The City Museum consistently updates its spaces so that permanent pieces are maintained and temporary exhibits are swapped out. The skate-less skate park was fun! The City Museum even has a Toddler Town section for the younger guests to enjoy. I love the tributes to the Gateway Arch throughout the experience. Flashback to the days of Shamu's Happy Harbor at SeaWorld Orlando... Some of the slides are near pitch black and that's awesome! Almost everywhere you look you'll find climbing structures to explore. There's a train for the youngsters to enjoy as well. Beatnik Bob's ended up being a favorite spot of mine during our visit. Retro arcade games and pinball machines! There was a collection of loose toys available for purchase for $1 each! The lighting junkie in me loved this section of the place! Awesome lighting AND alcohol? Sign me up! So my speed! Love it all! I wish I could've ridden this... The train wraps around a few sections of the City Museum including this cool display that you can also crawl under and inside of. Just hanging out on a giant pencil... The outside section looks so cool, especially in the snow! There's an art museum on one of the upper floors to explore. It wasn't open during our visit but it looked neat. These smaller crawl spaces aren't for the claustrophobic as you have to contort your body in some weird ways to move around... Every angle presents a unique view. Every. Single. View. I couldn't help but stare at this view. Goooooingggggg dowwwnnnnnn.... *guitar riff* The ground floor of City Museum is arguably the most artistic. So many hidden crawl spaces. If you can access it, you can explore it. There's a steep slide to the basement found from the above crawl space. The caverns are pretty neat too. Don't look down! The caverns really are unique. Artsy shot... Time to head out... I'll be back more in the future without question! Compared to our view of the courthouse the night before, a lot had changed...

Margaritaville Resort Orlando officially opened this week! Check out the details on opening event as well as all of the resort amenities that opened with the resort!

Soaring: Fantastic Flights will officially open at Tokyo DisneySea on July 23rd, 2019! http://www.olc.co.jp/en/news/news_olc/20190118_01e/main/0/link/20190118_01e.pdf

Sea Life Malaysia is opening at Legoland Malaysia this year! https://www.thesundaily.my/local/sea-life-malaysia-at-legoland-to-open-in-april-AK408453

https://deadline.com/2019/01/fox-maylaysia-theme-park-countersuit-genting-malaysia-berhad-1202540459/

Six Flags Great Adventure has sent out a press release announcing Calypso Springs, the largest expansion to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in the water park's history!

One of the largest pieces of Finnegan's Flyer has arrived at Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

The Walt Disney World Resort has sent us a press release announcing that guests can now make reservations for stays at Disney's Reviera Resort! The announcement also includes more details about the resort rooms, dining options and amenities!

Another exciting new fast casual option is coming to Disney Springs in the form of Pepe by José Andrés, joining Jaleo on the West Side of Disney Springs! https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/01/disneyfamilia-pepe-by-jose-andres-coming-to-disney-springs/

^Maybe I just haven’t dug deep enough into what’s has been posted on other sites so far but everything thing I’ve seen of the construction work is surface layer removals of track and railings... I’ve yet to see any of the support structures modified in any way, and while I’m not saying that they won’t heavily modify the supports (because we know they will) I think it is wrong to assume that the majority of this coaster will be built from scratch without leveraging the existing structure... If they weren’t going to use the majority of it, I think you would’ve seen larger chunks of the coaster already missing.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/01/exclusive-photos-captain-marvel-lands-aboard-disney-cruise-line/ https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2019/01/first-look-adventures-by-disneys-new-river-cruise-vacations-for-2020/

It's a boy! Disney has sent us news that a new Masai giraffe calf has been born at Disney's Animal Kingdom!

LEGOLAND Florida has announced that their third hotel will be the Pirate Island Hotel!

(Continued) In the home stretch... Or rather, the hat stretch. Diagon Alley is one of the largest set pieces in the tour. Years ago when Diagon Alley opened in Florida, we had the chance to talk to the stars of the film franchise and they all expressed their amazement with seeing these very sets turned into a fully immersive environment. I didn't realize how much of a different there was between the two until I saw this set for myself. Interestingly enough, the facades and the placement of the shops isn't exactly the same throughout the land. Lots of detail to take in though. Florean Fortescue's is very different here... And sadly I couldn't get any Salted Caramel Blondie/Apple Crumble mix ice cream. This I recognize! One last look... Moving on to the paper craft and models section of the tour. Really neat to see the design part of the process here. I didn't realize this actually existed outside of the parks. Pretty impressive! Lots of cool things to see. These models helped the filmmakers to prepare for their cinematography in these scenes before the sets had been built. Sight lines are important. Having seen the full sized, practical set piece, this was neat to see the earliest stage three dimensional model. Detail. The scene conceptualized here looked pretty spot on in the final product. And now the grand finale... The Hogwarts Castle model used for all aerial imagery in the films... It is huge, the lighting is dramatic and the detail is unreal. You get to circle around the castle as you descend towards the exit. Another Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey locale. Just incredible. The exit is like the end credits to a film... Each of the wand boxes represents the name of someone involved in the films... See if you can spot the notable ones. Lots to be found here. Pretty cool. The smaller version of the Triward Cup from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is displayed at the exit. The gift shop features many of the candies from the parks plus a few that we don't have stateside. PYGMY PUFFS!!! BOWTRUCKLE! There was a small section dedicated to the upcoming Fantastic Beasts film as well. The Harry Potter Studio Tour does see several seasonal events and overlays to change things up throughout the year. It may surprise you to hear that the exhibit is growing significantly still. According to one guide we met, the tour will nearly double in size in the next five years! On the way back to London proper, I saw a credit... And I happily passed it by without stopping... Because credits aren't important. Stopping off at Camden Market... This is apparently a really well known place, but I really don't like cereal or milk, so I passed. POFFERTJES! After years of seeing Robb & Elissa hype these, I was glad to get to try this deliciousness myself! Back in Picadilly, we decided to catch a cheap show through TKTS... But before then, dinner! And no, I didn't go to dinner at Bubba Gumps... But I did buy a shot glass while I was there. If you're ever in Picadilly, I would strongly recommend going to Baby Bao. Time to see Matilda for the first time! Our cast for the night... And our Matilda! The show was really fun! The cast (primarily the kids) were all really awesome and the sets were fun and inventive. Definitely worth the visit if you have the chance! A great end to a fantastic day!

(Continued) A few more major props that were used in front of a green screen. The doorway to the Chamber of Secrets is an entirely practical prop, despite it looking so fluid. Seeing it move in person is unreal! The Womping Willow beating the car is another practical effect that is amazing to watch. The Weasley residence... The many set pieces were accompanied by costumed mannequins with matching the placement of their respective characters from the film scenes. Tom Riddle's grave. The Black Family tree. Dolores Umbridge's office... The iconic statue from the Ministry of Magic. I've seen these gates before! Time to go into the Forbidden Forest! Buckbeak is here in the form of a gorgeous animatronic. Aragog is here too. For guests looking for an extra souvenir, this passport and stamp experience can be enjoyed throughout the tour. It is a neat little takeaway for sure. Another huge space... Most people will recognize the image of the Hogwarts Express... This is the one used for all of the stationary filming for the Harry Potter films. Amazing how similar the end result was for the version at Universal Studios Florida. Neat little photo op. Time to go in! You can actually see the various passenger cabins onboard the train. The experience is perfectly recreated in Florida--I didn't realize it until I saw this in person. The costumes of Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron from the epilogue scene at the end of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Harry and Ron on the Hogwarts Express during their first trip to Hogwarts. So many of these treats from the trolley are now available for sale in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. A recognizable piece of imagery from the chase through London scene. Halfway through the tour, you'll find a place to indulge in your inevitable craving for Butterbeer. Classic Butterbeer and Butterbeer Ice Cream are both available for purchase... I did find them each to taste a little different than their stateside counterparts but both were still great. There is an outdoor section of the tour that features full size sets from the films including the Knight Bus and the Privet Drive house... You can walk through the Privet Drive house where Harry grew up... Despite being a full size home on the exterior, only portions of the first floor are built out. Harry's cupboard under the stairs is here... Details... Such a cool scene to see in person. A behind the scenes look at how sets are built and weathered to look like brick homes... The long covered bridge from Hogwarts is outside and available to be walked for photo ops. Godrick's Hollow where Harry's parents were killed is also here. More chess pieces from the finale of the first film. John Cleese's prop head from his role as Nearly-Headless Nick in the first two films. There are informative digital presentations throughout the second half of the tour featuring Warwick Davis who played several roles in the Harry Potter film franchise (and in the production of Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Florida). A look at how some of the creatures of the Wizarding World were created using animatronics... The decapitated head of the basilisk is mounted on the wall... Shades of the Monster Horror Makeup Show in Florida... The Hogs Head should be familiar to many fans of the parks. More animatronic creatures from the films. Animatronic innards. Having fun being Dobby. Park fans might recognize this dragon. Another prop carefully recreated in Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Some Mad Eye Mooney props. I've officially found my spirit animal.

Our first stop during our time in London was the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter. We'd had little samples of this experience at the Celebration of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando, but with my wife being a huge fan of all things Potter and me being a fan of the films and the moviemaking process, there was no question about us visiting while in Europe. The Warner Bros. Studio Tour London - The Making of Harry Potter is a giant collection of soundstages and outdoor spaces playing host to set pieces, props and practical effects big and small that were used in the creation of the Harry Potter films. The experience continues to evolve with new additions and seasonal overlays of portions of the tour. The experience is self guided, though you have the option to pay for a deeper-level guidebook and/or a VIP tour with a guide (this is definitely something we'll get the next time we visit). Many tour companies recommend three hours in the experience, but it is my recommendation for you to allow more time than that... We were only half way done as of three hours in. Depending on your degree of fandom/interest, you could easily spend closer to six hours there like we did. There are some interactive elements and a few neat photo/video ops (some free and some up-charge). But what is truly amazing about this place is just how much detail is revealed, not only in the making of these films, but in the attention to detail that was put into the design. In theme parks, we recognize the outstanding achievements of parks that bury little details in the background to be discovered... But in film, it almost seems gratuitous to take the time, money and effort to layer detail into the background of scenes that a viewer will never get close to... And yet, it is without question a feat that those involved in the making of these films gone the extra mile to pour writing, labels, background effects and overflowing detail in every corner. That is what makes this experience so surprising--the level of discovery to be had within. Quite the entrance statement... Some notable statues from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The age spell surrounding the Goblet of Fire is recreated here for guests to attempt to cross. Once inside, you walk down this long hall covered with notable quotes from the films... Most people know this one. The Triward Cup from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is prominently displayed at the entrance of the exhibit space. Harry's original room under the stairs is among the first things you see upon arrival inside... It has been preserved from the films. I won't give away the reveal that takes place before this moment (no photographs allowed) because it is honestly quite an amazing moment. The Great Hall is one of the most impressive portions of the entire tour. The detail within is overwhelming. The space receives various holiday overlays throughout the year but during our visit, it was set up in the normal way. It is doubtful you ever saw this fireplace up close in any of the films, but the detail on the Hogwarts crest and the fake fire effect is incredibly impressive! All of Hogwarts' most well known professors are at the front of the Great Hall, positioned where their actors stood when filming. It is always impressive to see how many different creative minds have been involved in these films. It is easy to forget the Chris Columbus, the director of Home Alone 1 & 2 was also the director of the first two Harry Potter films. It is amazing to see just how many props were created for single shots in these films. These props were used as a part of the decor for the Yule Ball scene in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Fans of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida will recognize the Leaky Cauldron, which has been recreated in Florida. A full map of the total experience. One fact that surprised me was that the costuming team for the final two Harry Potter films (Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2) created a progression of faded costumes for Harry and Voldemort that represented their respective journeys from the start to end of these two films. Voldemort's robes are dark and defined at the beginning and faded at the end where Harry's colors are subtle at the start and bold by the end... The two characters switch the scales in strength from start to finish, a detail that most would not likely pick up on as purposeful when watching the films. The moving staircase and the talking portraits can be seen here. This practical effect makes it look like the water is flowing freely, but in reality the prop features a series of transparent colored pipes that contain the flowing water. The Gryffindor Boys Dormatory set is small and charming on the inside... But getting to see how it was assembled from the outside, shows that is a much larger set piece that you'd expect. There were no shortage of unique wands created for these films. The Mirror of Erised. One of my favorite pieces in the entire tour... It may seem obvious but the invisibility cloak effect was achieved by chromakey. Some of the details that were in the background in the films and minor points in the books have gone on to have a significant presence in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park lands around the world. Pumpkin Juice is an example of this, and the packaging is incredibly accurate in the parks compared to what was used on screen. Gorgeous! The entrance to Dumbledore's office... If you've experienced Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey's queue, you're likely familiar with this view. The set for Dumbledore's office is perfectly recreated in the parks. The Dumbledore family has a connection to phoenixes... This is elaborated upon in the latest Fantastic Beasts film. The memories Dumbledore extracts are kept in vials here in his office... Though you never get this close to them onscreen, it is amazing to see in person the written detail of the labels on each of the vials. Looking into my own memories... The egg prop from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is neat to see in person. Some key, smaller props from the films. The prop that started it all... Another major prop from the first film. Troll armor, something you see more of in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida. Skelegrow is another recognizable prop from the films. Voldemorts many horcruxes. Snape's potions class... Each vial has its own unique label and ingredients inside. Another look at how the talking portraits inside of Hogwarts are made. Hagrid's Hut is surprisingly a pretty small set. Though it looks bigger on the inside. A focus on the moving, practical props from the films. You have the ability to fly on a broom in front of a green screen to take pictures and to make a video... I had to get one.

A few weeks ago my wife and I decided to take a weekend getaway to a new city... St. Louis had been on my list for a while, primarily because of the City Museum and the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, so we booked our flights and made our way there. A few days before our trip the weather forecast changed from cold and rainy to cold and snowy... And by the time we arrived, it turned out that Winter Storm Gia was on its way. With our trip already under way, we did the best we could to maximize our time before the storm shut things down. First on our list was the St. Louis Zoo... Our view from our hotel... This would change pretty significantly over the course of the weekend. More fuel... First glance at the St. Louis Gateway Arch. I'm in Budweiser town! A really cool sculpture at the entrance of the zoo... Just reminds me of the classic SeaWorld/Busch Gardens architecture... The entry interior is quite cool too! Never saw an insect exhibit this neat! Millipede! Nightmare fuel. Most fuel. Just crazy. Neat getting to see these ants at work. Can you find the stick bugs? The butterfly garden was neat too! Signs of the cold starting to creep in... The hyenas didn't mind the chill. A cheetah on the run... It is eyeing me down... Elephants out in the cold... TPR (fake) Turtle Fancy fulfilled! This bear was adorable! A little too cold for Dole Whip today... TPR (real) Turtle Fancy fulfilled! So neat looking and yet still deadly. So cool! Lemurs! I'd never seen a spider monkey in person before! Its tail was quite impressive. Primate cuddles. Zebras! This bird cage (their words, not mine) was built for the 1904 World's Fair... And it looks like something out of Jurassic Park III. ALAN. You don't have to go to Legoland to experience The LEGO Movie 4D. Time to spend some time with the orangutans. Just hanging out... Meet Ginger (that's her actual name)! Don't act like you're not impressed. He's like the Coca-Cola Polar Bear! Beautiful! The zoo's penguin exhibit was like a smaller, successful mix of SeaWorld's old Penguin Encounter and its new Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin exhibit. It is an open air exhibit but it doesn't have the silly ride attached. Up-close and open air like you'd want an exhibit for penguins to be. Echoes of the former Penguin Encounter at SeaWorld. And there were puffins! The St. Louis Zoo is free for all guests (save for some up-charge experiences like the train and the 4D theater) and it is well worth a visit! Is everything awesome? Afterwards we stopped to have some St. Louis BBQ... But first, real orange soda. Pappy's was well worth the hype... All the meat! And by the time our lunch had ended, the snow had started to roll in...