jedimaster1227

^We’re always really protective of our limited time at Disneyland when we come in which is why we’ve never really broken away much during our trips (I’ve done Universal three times, the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld San Diego once each and that’s it), but this is definitely on my must try list. I definitely know I’d enjoy it!

This looks like a great new coaster! I'll eventually get out to Knotts and I'm sure this will be a highlight when I do.

^Until construction starts, nothing is final when it comes to theme parks... And even then, plans can change very quickly. Inside knowledge or not, until the attraction opens, nothing is 100% guaranteed. Some examples (both historical and more recent) include: Meet the World at Epcot - The ride building was fully constructed along with the entire show developed offsite but never installed. The entire attraction ended up being shipped to Japan to open at Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. The Rhine River Cruise at Epcot - The show building was fully constructed but was never used for its intended purpose. A portion of the Biergarten restaurant uses what would have been the entrance to the queue for the ride had it been built. DisneyQuest Philadelphia - Nicknamed "the Disney Hole" because the building had completed foundational construction by the time the project was cancelled mid-build. The ET Adventure at Universal Studios Singapore - The ride path was fully constructed as designed but the decision to alter the originally intended theme for the ride was made late in the game, changing it to the Sesame Street-inspired Spaghetti Space Chase. All of the above projects were publicly announced in one form or another and yet they didn't come to fruition. Theme parks pivot all the time in the creative process... No inside knowledge is guaranteed, especially when changes like these can happen so late in the game.

(Continued) Over in Walt Disney Presents (formerly known as One Man's Dream), guests can find a portion of the Star Wars Galaxy's Edge model on display. The full model was shown to guests at the D23 Expo last Summer. There's also a full Toy Story Land model for guests to look at while in the exhibit. A nice teaser for Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway! The ride vehicle for Alien Swirling Saucers, coming to Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios! I had to go back to the Baseline Tap House for more! A neat tie in to the Disney California Adventure Red Car Trolley line... Baseline Tap House replaced the former Writer's Stop and this is definitely a step up! Some great selections on tap and several tasty food options as well. The former graphic print shop has been converted into a bar according to the storyline of the space. Classic Disneyland imagery can be seen with some in-the-works poster prints. The former Writer's Stop marquee letters are scattered throughout the shelves of the Baseline Tap House. The Ace Hard Cider was delicious! I don't typically find myself in the mood for ciders but I tried this in the flight during my first visit and had to get more! Grand Avenue takes up the last remaining portion of the former Streets of America and encompasses the Muppets Courtyard including Mama Melrose's and the shops towards the back. The apartment callback at the entrance to one of the Grand Avenue facades is functional and contains the names of several Imagineers who have worked on projects for the parks. This will eventually be one of the entrance to Star Wars Galaxy's Edge... I'm already there! Love it! Muppetvision 3D also got a new marquee. And the Muppet fountain was partially restored! We rode Star Tours to check out the new Crait sequence inspired by Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The additions are quite fun! We also stopped in to see Star Wars: Path of the Jedi which now features an updated video that highlights The Force Awakens and a little of The Last Jedi. The holidays have expanded to Echo Lake this year! A Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM cupcake... The new Starbucks You Are Here mug for Hollywood Studios features the Alien Swirling Saucers from Toy Story Land! Since we were seeing Star Wars The Last Jedi later that day, it made sense to keep up with our theme and visit Star Wars Launch Bay to check out all that was new. The Star Wars Launch Bay preshow film has been heavily updated with new video related to The Last Jedi, Star Wars Rebels, Forces of Destiny, Star Wars Battlefront II and Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. I really loved all of the updates! If you look closely in Star Wars Launch Bay you can find pieces of some former Star Tours droids from the original attraction. Some new models from The Last Jedi have been added to Star Wars Launch Bay. Even more props from the film. This monstrosity was a delicious triple-tiered red velvet whoopie pie! Before it is time for Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM... It is time for Movie Magic! It is a really awesome pre-show to the normal fireworks show that runs at Hollywood Studios and I highly recommend checking it out! And then there's the fun that is Jingle Bell, Jingle BAM! Lasers, projections, fireworks... This show has everything! The lasers are the best here. And the show includes The Nightmare Before Christmas! Such a fun show. Another new addition to the holidays at Hollywood Studios was the projections on Tower of Terror. Some neat imagery. My favorite of all of the scenes! The Swedish Chef has turned the Tower of Terror into a gingerbread house! Bork! Bork! Bork! One of my favorite movies. Greys. Sports. Almanac. And it did not disappoint! I was given a BB-8 cake for my birthday and it was BB-Great! Oh for the love of Porg! A new holiday droid! We were lucky to see two shows in the month of December... School of Rock was up next!

This year's holidays in Orlando were filled with a ton of new (and returning) opportunities to enjoy the parks... And in keeping with birthday tradition, I lived it up in town. But we decided to pivot a bit on the tail end of the holidays by catching a flight to Philadelphia just to try something new. This trip report starts with the Florida section of our holiday adventures and the next update will start with photos from our visit to Phily, cheesesteaks and all! As a major Star Wars fan, I made it a point to experience the new Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire VR experience from The Void during its opening day at Disney Springs. The lobby is open and inviting... I get the feeling that based on the design of the space, the theme of the game or the content could be changed out semi-regularly. In case you were wondering, the VR experience comes with a set of warnings. Guests are prompted to choose their preference of stormtrooper armor and then are briefed by Cassian Andor, from Star Wars: Rogue One. The story of Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire takes place before the events of the film. While no photos were allowed beyond this space, I can tell you that I absolutely loved the experience. The VR was unlike anything I've experienced before and the effects (heat, water, sound, physical set pieces integrated into the virtual space around you) were fantastic. The interactivity between your three other teammates is incredibly cool (and for this reason I highly recommend coordinating to get a group of four together that you know to experience this together) and the immersion is intensely real. The story is accessible to the casual fans but has some great nods to lore that will make the more hardcore canon fans smile. I cannot recommend this enough! ALL THE CHEESE! Over at Disney's Hollywood Studios I checked out the new Baseline Tap House and was really impressed with the selection of beers and the light bites they served. As one of our holiday gifts, my in-laws got us tickets to see The Book of Mormon... The show was an incredibly pleasant surprise with fantastic music, a really funny cast and story and some direct references to Orlando that made it even more fitting that we were seeing the show in town. We had a chance to stop in for an evening at the Epcot Festival of the Holidays to try a few new items. So much delicious food! So much delicious porg! Over at SeaWorld the Christmas Celebration was running so we hopped over to see the Clyde and Seamore Christmas show including the return of the famous SeaWorld mime! Minor set updates for the Christmas show. Clyde & Seamore's Countdown to Christmas was... interesting. Similar behaviors to those found in the Sea Lions Tonight! Some fun photo ops in the park. The park really does a fantastic job decorating for the holidays! If there's something SeaWorld has continued to do well over the years, it is their seasonal events. Really nice! Rudolph's Christmastown was a new area for the park. Guests could meet several of the characters from the classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer claymation feature. And I met Bumble! Santa moved from his previous meet and greet location inside of the entrance of the animal exhibit in Wild Arctic... He moved to a side room towards the exit of the exhibit. Shamu's Happy Harbor was dressed up too. The light sails were pretty clever. Meatball pretzel for the win! Miracles is easily one of my favorite SeaWorld shows year-round. It is cheesy... Mildly Christmassy... And uses obscure music from The Prince of Egypt in sync with the awesome killer whale movements. Just a good time to be had! And of course there are big splashes! There's a whale of a tail or two... This is classic SeaWorld and I love every bit of it. The Sea of Trees returned this year, bigger and brighter than ever. The Waterfront looked great for the event. As a Landry's Select Club member, I get $25 every year for my birthday to use at a Landry’s restaurant of my choice. Naturally I chose Yak & Yeti at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This Malaysian Seafood Curry was absolutely fantastic! While we were there we also took the time to see Flights of Wonder during one of its last days running. I saw the show only once before this viewing and that was in 1998 when I visited the park before the official grand opening. I was pleasantly surprised with the experience and it definitely hyped me for the new Up-themed show opening in a few months! Over at Hollywood Studios I finally got the chance to meet Baby Groot... And Starlord too!

Parks that operate year-round, especially the SeaWorld/Busch parks have made it standard practice to have spare trains on hand, even if the train is used more for the swapping of parts when individual pieces require repair. Just because the coaster doesn’t have a transfer track it doesn’t mean that the park hasn’t invested in spares.

The bottom line is, from where SeaWorld currently stands, their greatest asset is the fun and exciting offerings their parks contain including but not limited to, the rides, shows and the hands-on interactions the park offers with its many animals. I will always remember the following marketing campaign for its upbeat, attractive mix of visuals of animals, shows, rides and fun throughout the parks. This is what I wish we'd see more of these days.

^It is an extremely popular attraction but also a very expensive one to install, especially compared to the more economical fare that has been added to the Toy Story Land areas worldwide. It is a significant investment for the resort to add the attraction--one that I think would make sense for Paris if they didn't already have their Toy Story Land built out (plus they are adding Alien Swirling Saucers from Florida's Toy Story Land).

^

Yes--for those who don't wish to wear the "Emerald Helmet. That is a pleasant surprise. To know that the experience can still be enjoyed with the VR element is a nice plus for the more sensitive riders.

I'm really hoping that some of these coasters find a second life elsewhere... Zaturn would be welcome in Florida.

Did we ever find out if Kanonen was bought by another park?

Oh dear lord... Where to even begin? $569 raised. They are well on their way to saving Geauga Lake.

Djurs Sommerland has sent us a press release about the two new attractions the park is adding for the 2018 season!

What's been put out recently to indicate it isn't happening?

Bobbejaanland has sent us a press release announcing the addition of a signficant new Gerstlauer triple-launch coaster similar to Gold Rush which opened recently at Slagharen!

http://www.seaworldinvestors.com/news-releases/news-release-details/2018/SeaWorld-Entertainment-Inc-Announces-Leadership-Transition-Plan/default.aspx

Cedar Point has sent us a press release sharing details of some of the new changes coming to the park in 2018 as was recently announced at the Winter Chill Out off-season event!

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/the-tropical-hideaway-discovered-in-adventureland-at-disneyland-park/

I'm still cautious about the fact that they're adding VR to the same motion platform experience that has been there for years... I'm curious to see how the experience turns out and how long it will last. That venue (and its sister attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa) have had a history of short-lived attractions coming and going.

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/toy-story-lands-at-disneys-hollywood-studios-shanghai-disneyland-are-set-to-amaze-guests-in-2018/

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/toy-story-lands-at-disneys-hollywood-studios-shanghai-disneyland-are-set-to-amaze-guests-in-2018/

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/first-look-new-images-of-the-star-wars-inspired-resort-planned-for-the-walt-disney-world-resort/

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/02/new-lamplight-lounge-to-open-june-23-at-pixar-pier-in-disney-california-adventure-park/

Six Flags has sent us a press release announcing the rebranding of Waterworld Concord to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord!