jedimaster1227

(Continued) My birthday cake from Enchanted Garden that night. Cabanas has these amazing tile murals to enjoy. Hi Elissa! Next up was our day at Castaway Cay, which was dressed up for the holidays! I have such fun taking photos on the island. Get it? Pelican Plunge is an awesome Whitewater slide complex that was added a few years ago in preparation for the arrival of the Disney Dream and the Disney Fantasy. And it is so fun to watch as an observer too! The enclosed slide practically throws adult guests out of it! The snorkel lagoon at Castaway Cay is seriously the best. I can never get enough photos of the ship from the island. It is so cool to see the added touches for the holidays... Haha! Hiya Mickey! Awesome! The decor was simple but really a nice touch! Pink, the ship's Champagne Bar has this awesome glass sculpture behind the bar. I love how the AquaDuck frames the upper deck! A water play area for the non-potty trained youngsters... The AquaDuck is a really fun slide that you can't escape without being absolutely soaked... The uphill water jets make sure of that. It would be really neat to see some of the new Slideboarder lighting tech integrated into the tubes down the road. A look at the island from the ship. Bring me that horizon! I never get tired of this view! Or this... The Quiet Cove Pool is my personal favorite of the pools on the ship. A sign of quality. The Vibe teen club has a private sun deck with two hot tubs. Looking ahead... I love this entryway... The Atrium just looks so great! Admiral Donald at the helm! Such a fun place to hang out. Next up was our first time dining at Remy, the ship's additional-charge French restaurant. First up was the Tomato Soup Cube. The soup is flash fried in a breeding cube and when you bite it warm soup is inside. A table-side prepared Champagne Cocktail is made for each dining guest. They brought over a huge white truffle to show off the main ingredient of their seasonal white truffle menu. The aroma filled the room when the glass was lifted for a brief moment. Remy's Ratatouille had a unique preparation with all of the vegetables retaining their unique favors in a beautiful fashion. The dish was served with an awesome olive oil ice cream on top. My first entree was a preparation of lobster that looked and tasted great. The Tomato Tarte was available for those looking for more vegetable based entrees. The Black Cod was tasty for sure. I had to try this one... Just for the Halibut. The duck was served quite rare for a really great flavor and consistency. My most adventurous (and favorite) dish of the night was the Veal Sweetbreads, cooked to perfection! The Kobe Beef was killer! I was in cheese heaven this night! And for dessert Chocolat au Framboise. Every place we dined at found a fun way to celebrate my birthday! And the famous Remy desserts to finish off the night... We ended up taking a significant amount to go since we were stuffed from the rest of the meal.

Just a few weeks ago I had the chance to sail once again aboard the beautiful Disney Dream, this time for my first four night sailing. Also unique to any sailing I had had previously was the Very MerryTime Sailing element of this cruise, with extra holiday entertainment, decor and food to make the cruise extra special! There she is! Our first stop on the cruise (seriously, we got to our room and got prepped for this) was Palo! The BEST portobello mushroom dish ever is served with creamy polenta and a really amazing balsamic sauce. The best potato gnocchi I've ever had. Fun fact: The end-of-meal Calvados/Apple Brandy/Lemon Sorbet shot from Palo can be turned into a full frozen cocktail from the Palo bar, if requested! And it is heavenly! Skipped out on my normal Palo Tenderloin in favor of the highly recommended Osso Bucco. This thing was hearty and super-filling, and the bone marrow was the best I've ever had! Skipped the Chocolate Soufflé to try the Chocolate Amaretto Still my favorite piece of art on the ship! As one of the Very MerryTime Sailing features added for the cruise, a giant gingerbread house was assembled in one corner of the Atrium. On the first and last nights of the sailing hot chocolate and cookies were available for guests to enjoy. The Atrium really looks amazing with all of the holiday decor! Just hanging out with Stitch... Another new offering was Santa's Winter Wonderland Ball in the Atrium of the ship. Do you want to build a snowman? Santa even made an appearance! And then it magically began to snow! Donald was loving it! The next morning we tried the Palo Champagne Brunch while at port in Nassau. Seriously amazing just how much food was there. This pile of scallops nearly had me crying tears of joy. Bloody Mary Shrimp Shots! DESSERT BONANZA! I did well for the seafood and cheese side of the buffet. The Palo Champagne Brunch also includes a selection of made to order entrees including eggs, pizzas and more. This open-faced frittata was one of the best I've ever had. Oysters Rockefeller! And this beauty... Easily the best Chicken Parmigiana I've ever had. And yes, that is CANDIED BASIL on top of the chicken. I was in heaven. I went kind of crazy with dessert... As I often do. This is the closest I've been to Atlantis in years... I rarely ever get off of the ship in Nassau. One of my favorite pieces of Disney Animation concept art on the ship. Proof that somewhere in this ship there is a hidden coaster waiting to be ridden. Looks so nice! Another addition for the Very MerryTime cruise was the Deck the Deck Tropical Holiday Party out on the upper deck. Hi Elissa! There was dancing... And a conga line! This Keyblade Cake (it's actually the symbol for Concierge on the ship) was delicious! Best logo on the Seven Seas! Dinner at Enchanted Garden began with the Mushroom and Bacon Tart served on a leek risotto. It was bliss. And of course, the killer Avocado Tuna Tower for the sushi fan in me. The Pan-Seared Sea Bass is the standout entree on the menu for sure! And then this happened. Some other holiday desserts available on the sailing... A look inside the Oceaneer's Lab with the amazing interactive dance floor/game pad. Our stateroom for those who wonder what a stateroom looks like. Lunch at Cabanas always gives me my chance to fill up on fresh seafood! Oceaneer Bands are available for the younger guests in the Oceaneer's Lab and Oceaneer's Club and they are compatible with MagicBand accessories. Look! It's Peter Pan! Then this happened. And it was amazingly entertaining. Time for more desserts. Another favorite piece of Disney Animation concept art on the ship. The in-room TVs even have a channel dedicated to those awesome Mickey Mouse cartoon shorts that have come out over the last few years. Seriously, they are hilarious and offer great little Easter Eggs for Disney fans, especially those from the parks.

^Concept Art for Cheetah Hunt (found in the ride's exit a few years ago) indicates that spinning trains were definitely considered... Or that at least Euro-Mir's drop from the tower was an inspiration for the Windcatcher Tower.

GCI made the mistake of building it at a park that was privately owned for years but then went Public so Blackstone could make a few bucks and then budget cuts and Blackfish and then more budget cuts and then more budget cuts til they could only operate 1 side and then closed it permanently. GCI built the ride where a viable buyer offered to build it. It was custom designed for Busch so GCI is not at fault. Blackstone, the IPO and Blackfish have nothing to do with the ride's deterioration. The PTC's killed the track and the structure. The re-tracking hardly fixed those issues and the Millennium Flyers were too little of a fix, too late in the game. They didn't make the ride run any better and didn't increase its popularity with guests so it was no longer justified to operate and maintain both sides (that both continued to deteriorate during their operation). The ride hasn't drawn a crowd even during the busier times in years. The wait times were inflated mostly because of the notoriously bad operations (often times it would take 3-6 minutes to dispatch a train and they barely bothered to duel both sides in the latter years of both tracks running) and guest satisfaction between the awful wait and the awful ride experience were both reason enough to drop this ride on the guest satisfaction spectrum. Budget cuts may help to justify Gwazi closing for good, but all of the above factors are primary causes of an eventuality that would have happened whether or not the SeaWorld parks were suffering overall. Gwazi has been doomed for a long time.

^If anything, it is possible that the former Old Mill sets (which had been along the ride path for many decades) will simply be sent to the Walt Disney Archives for preservation.

^From what I remember of our Q&A when the Millennium Flyers were added just before Cheetah Hunt opened, the GCI trains, like all other trains that Busch has for their coasters are maintained in-house with at least one train always in maintenance since it is a year-round park. That being said, with one full side of the ride having been closed for some time, it is likely that at least one if not several of the trains became spare parts and nothing more. I'd imagine that there are maybe two to three full trains that could be sold in used condition if Busch really bothered to try.

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/12/magic-kingdom-park-welcomes-the-golden-coach-from-cinderella/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/12/stk-orlando-to-open-in-disney-springs-in-2015/

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/12/frozen-now-featured-in-storybook-land-canal-boats-at-disneyland-park/

http://www.screamscape.com/html/busch_gardens_tampa.htm#General Gwazi is closing for good shortly after the new year begins... Get out to Busch Gardens Tampa ASAP if you care to ride what is left of it one last time!

Universal Studios Hollywood has sent us a press release announcing their plans for their new "New Year's Eve Movie Night" celebration!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/12/fantastic-new-home-for-disney-food-trucks-exposition-park-at-downtown-disney-west-side/

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/attractions/theme-park-rangers-blog/os-universal-holiday-parade-music-20141208-post.html

http://www.screamscape.com/html/usa_news.htm#SouthCarolina

Quassy has sent us a fun infographic about Frantic!

Hersheypark has sent us a press release regarding the newest residents at ZooAmerica!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2014/12/new-frozen-fun-opens-at-disneyland-resort-january-7/

LEGOLAND Florida has sent us a press release regarding a new package they are offering for guests planning to stay at the new LEGOLAND Hotel when it opens later in 2015.

^Thats very interesting to see! I certainly didn't realize how much of a crowd the parks were pulling in Paris!

Cowabunga, that looks amazing!

Tonight Theme Park Review was invited to experience one of the first showings of Marvel Universe LIVE! at the Amway Arena in Orlando, Florida. This brand new show brings a large number of the Marvel superheroes and super villains on stage, together in one show for the first time. Produced by Feld Entertainment, this show features the characters from The Avengers, the X-Men and Spiderman franchises, bringing them together in a unique story that takes its cues from classic Marvel comic lore but clearly borrows inspiration from the insanely popular Marvel Cinematic Universe that has put Marvel Studios on the map since the original Iron Man film was released. A combination of lasers, smoke and pyro join with the thrill of high-octane stunts to create a high-energy show with a surprisingly versatile set that transforms between scenes with set adjustments and projection mapping. In the interest of full disclosure and FCC compliance, it should be noted that courtesy tickets were given for us to experience this event tonight. This show is designed with families in mind and definitely gives a great, live-action taste of what Marvel has to offer for fans of all parts of the company. The high-thrill stunts and the well-choreographed action sequences will entertain all and the show has a humor that mirrors that found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. I strongly recommend catching Marvel Universe LIVE! when it comes nearby to you! It'll be well worth your time and you'll have a great time seeing it! There's no shortage of merchandise available before the show! How about getting some face painting done to look like your favorite character... The wristbands actually connect to the show in a very Glow With the Show-esque experience. How about some themed snow cones? The show's stage is extremely multi-functional, with projection mapping enwrapping the entire stage, plus raising, lowering and plugging-and-playing additional stage features between scenes. The story goes that Thor split the Tesseract (also known as The Cosmic Cube in the show) to prevent its untapped power from getting into the hands of any one person, hero or villain. When Loki threatens the world with his own Cosmic Cube, the Avengers are called into action to save the day. Loki, the God of Mischief and brother of Thor has other plans in mind. The Avengers Tower from the end of The Avengers makes a cameo on the screen as well. This layered hologram effect is really well executed and adds a level of background sophistication to the show that will probably be overlooked by one not geeking out as much as me! Time to go visit Tony Stark in his lab. The show also features several high-speed jeep chases... Concluding in the explosion of one of the jeeps after it flips. Marvel's Civil War arc is not too far off. Things got a little heavy after the team convened for their first attempt to locate and rebuild the original Cosmic Cube. Lots of motocross in this show. Here's a look at the amazing lighting rig right beneath the main sign in the area. All of that is used throughout the show, despite it how crowded in may seem. There are several flying rigs attached that allow the characters along with their gliders or vehicles to fly. It wouldn't be a show without pyro! The Spiderman villains' segments was fantastic! There were even surprise appearances by characters not on the announced roster like Black Cat! It is hard to believe that this set can change so rapidly and effectively between scenes. The projection mapping is put to great use in the show! This spiral staircase was neat to see in person but especially cool to see when it involved motorcyclists riding this. A really colorful example of the projection mapping used in the show. The Hulk had to make an appearance as well! Such neat effects! And the Marvel superheroes stand before the crowd for one final appearance after saving the day!

It is interesting to see the resort is drawing enough traffic to warrant additional resort hotels... Or rather, additional resorts are being considered for anticipated crowds, which could be an indication for the future.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to revisit my favorite extra-ticket party at the Magic Kingdom Park at Walt Disney World. Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party features many of the park's normal attractions with significantly shortened wait times (thanks to a heavily decreased nightly park capacity for the event), in addition to special event entertainment, special dining options and UNLIMITED hot chocolate and cookies! I love this event more than you could possibly know! Let's head in! Our first stop was the brand new Jingle Cruise, a holiday overlay of the famous Jungle Cruise attraction. This year's version is a significant improvement over last year's with significant decor added throughout the queue and in the ride itself. Some fun Adventureland holiday decor can be seen from the loading dock. Hehe! Even the caged tarantula is in the holiday spirit! I hate turkey. Do you wanna build a sandbag-man? They finally got the truck to turn over for the holidays... The ride's dry-humor script has been updated to reflect the holiday themes as well. While it doesn't offer unlimited Citrus Swirls, the unlimited hot chocolate and cookies are a huge win for the event! Projections like these can be found throughout the park. Time for the Once Upon a Christmastime Parade! New to the parade this year was Olaf! As well as Kristoff from Frozen. Clarabelle Cow rolls by on her bakery float, complete with accompanying cinnamon scent! Wreck-It Ralph and Vannelope are new additions to the parade as well. Never gets old! Mini ponies! This float will forever find a home at Walt Disney World! I love this one too! The toy soldiers are always my favorite part of the parade, partially because of their organized stepping and partially because they are actually playing the musical instruments they carry (no audio backtrack for the instruments)! It wouldn't be Chrisstmas without Santa Claus... Or so I'm told. This hidden gem can be found in the Diamond Horseshoe in Frontierland. Horace Horsecollar!!! I decided to dance with Clarabelle Cow... Horace wasn't too happy about that. Loved this place! The Castle Dreamlights continue to wow me each year. Holiday Wishes is highly ranked among my favorite seasonal holiday fireworks shows at Disney. Just enjoying it... Smiley face! I was able to see Sandy Klaws for the first time at Walt Disney World. He had a line for over an hour so I saw him from afar, but he was a joy to watch! A Totally Tomorrowland Christmas returns to the Christmas Party complete with new pyro. Definitely worth seeing if you have extra time at the party. Over at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, there is another great dance party setup. Between the Holiday Hootenanny at the Diamond Horseshoe and Club Starlight at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, I was able to do the Cupid Shuffle with Horace Horsecollar, Clarabelle Cow, Clara Cluck, Phineas and Ferb! These were like the 10th sets of cookies and hot chocolate I had that night. There's also snow(pe) on Main Street during each Christmas Party. It looks so pretty! This year's event was another great one and I can't wait to go back and get more hot childcare and cookies next year!

SeaPlex looks like a real game-changer for the cruise industry. I'm really intrigued by how versatile they managed to make that venue!

http://www.badische-zeitung.de/rust/transportband-soll-gaeste-vom-parkplatz-in-den-europa-park-bringen--95114087.html