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Pretty sure this expansion was going to happen regardless of whether or not the tickets get taxed.

Fuji-Q is terrible. I don't have all the credits because the lines move so painfully slow if/when the rides are open. Nor have I been able to do the allegedly awesome haunt walkthrough. Dodonpa has the most insane moment of airtime I've ever experienced though. And the most intense launch. Bandit is also decent. But that is about all you will be able to ride in one day at that park....

^Disneyland itself probably doesn't make billions on its own. While I agree the practical FX would be better, an important thing to remember is the effects on Indy were designed in the early 90's---it's probably not as simple as just "maintaining" them. They likely would have to re-engineer them, so I'm guessing (as I said earlier) that the creative direction the resort is headed with projection likely dictated going that direction.

Correct. The evac platform was a modification to try and get the ride to re-open. I suspect Mondial and KBF could never get it to work correctly or efficiently enough to allow DOSH to approve it.

1. I doubt this has anything to do with California. There is no "code" for rides like there is building code. There's the ASTM standards that everyone agrees to follow because they are the best current documented practices out there. The state just comes in, verifies procedures are being followed, watches a mock evacuation, and that's about it. I bet SFMM screwed something up, at which point the state just said "uhm...guys...this modification doesn't meet one of those requirements...so sorry...it's closed" 2. Windseeker was lucky to get approved the first time around. Once the incident showed how insufficient Mondial's evac procedures really were, the ride had no chance.

The upgrades are nice. And they were sorely needed. And when you don't have anything else to market, of course they should be marketed. I personally think that is all taking the easy way out, but hey, it works...so good for them. It worked so well that they used the concept for the 50th and 60th anniversaries. However, none of that changes the fact Disneyland has gone 20 years without an E-ticket. That's an awful long time by the standard that Disneyland set themselves. It's not spoiled for someone to wonder when the next one is coming, especially given the increase in prices and the capacity problems the park faces.

I don't think you can say it is 100% false, because that is exactly what the business model became under Eisner. That neglect put Disney in the current situation it is in where the ride (and in the case of DCA, an entire park) overhauls became part improvement, part necessity. They should be upgraded. No question. However, my point is that people expect more of Disney because they are supposed to be the standard bearer of the industry. These upgrades should be the norm. Not "we have nothing else to market, so lets talk about upgrading rides that were going to need these upgrades regardless!" It's brilliant marketing to make something out of nothing, but it also opens up Disney to the criticism like the post you quoted. TL; DR version: IMO, it's definitely fair to wonder why Disneyland has not received an E-ticket in 20 years, especially given how DCA's overhaul has the resort busting at the seams with people. I also suspect when D-23 comes along, we'll have the announcement of Disneyland's next major ride/area...so in a few months this conversation will be a moot point.

Disney Parks and Resorts had $3.9 BILLION in revenue for the first quarter of 2015. They could afford it. IMO, in the case of the projection mapping for the doors, It just really boils down to the creative direction the resort is going---projection mapping made sense considering everything else they have done. I'm sure they had proposals to fix the physical effect too. It's personal preference. The Disney brand is the most famous theme park brand in the world, and part of that aura is because people generally think Disney is the standard bearer (Hell, Disney themselves sells "The Disney Institute" classes to other companies based on this belief)---IMO, it is completely fair to question why the industries supposed standard bearer is the lowering their standards to the point that all their E-tickets needed major overhauls. (Side note: Whomever figured out they can market them as well as they did deserves major kudos.) It's not entitlement to think that Disneyland needs a new E-ticket attraction, since it is very obvious they need another people eating E-ticket to get people off of the midways built for 1955 crowds. It's stating the obvious. The DCA overhaul just made the need for another major ride at Disneyland even more obvious, since it just put even more pressure on the resort with its added attendance, most of which are probably visiting on park hopper tickets.

^^Well since you used to work at KBF, where they blamed Intamin for their manual as the reason they weren't doing the maintenance correctly...I can see why you would say that. In reality though, AB850 (the state law that governs amusement rides) has strict requirements for document control. SFMM's operations might suck, but I highly doubt they don't properly archive their paperwork for at least the 3 years that is required by the law. That gets audited at least twice a year (once officially by the state and once by an independent 3rd party).

The park has no say on whether the ride opens or not when a death like that occurs. They have to report it to the state and the state makes the decision based on what the park tells them. My guess it that based on the initial reports and what her condition was at the time in the hospital, the park and state felt comfortable in allowing it to re-open. Closing the ride again since she passed away is also standard procedure in California, as the ride is technically a crime scene until it can be officially ruled out by the Sheriff no criminal negligence was responsible. After the Sheriff's are done, the state will come in to verify all safety systems work properly, maintenance is being done, ride ops were trained, etc. before allowing it to reopen.

It set the record for largest opening weekend ever. Which will soon be broken by Star Wars, but it is great to see the franchise brought back to life!

Universal's attractions also heavily lean on projections. My biggest gripe about 3D and projection mapping is not that they don't look good, but rather that they don't have the wow factor of practical FX. Totally makes business/engineering sense why they would switch out the effect, but it is definitely disappointing.

That is most likely the case.

In the short term, I think Jurassic World could make a great HHN maze. USH did a great job with the puppets at AVP last year, so something similar with giant puppets could work well.

I actually hope it would be running Top Gun backwards. Vortex seems like a waste to convert.

At least you guys can actually watch your team on TV from your home...

Was Revolution open today? If not, that probably means the girl was admitted to the hospital and the ride will have to remain closed until the state clears it.

Everything is going to be public record when the investigation is complete.

http://abc7news.com/news/two-injured-on-roller-coaster-at-great-america-in-santa-clara/781565/

^Likewise. Looks to be the nicest room on WDW property by a lot!

Makes sense. Keep the area clear for the girls treatment and transport. How quick Revolution re-opens will be telling as to her condition. Hope she is OK.

^That might be dangerous to your health depending on which buffet you chose to eat at! Aria is my current favorite on the strip...an Indian food station!!!

Makes me wonder what financial trouble the original owner got into to sell such a unique (and personally addressed) item.

Viper has been modified numerous times since it has opened to reduce stress on the ride. A couple of sections of track were replaced/re-profiled & trim brakes were added.

I definitely think this won't be a disappointment. It's impossible to live up to the original, but this is DEFINITELY better than the other sequels. There are great theme park jokes, lots of good references to the original, some good humor, and Chris Pratt worked well as the lead. You could tell they used as many practical FX as possible, which is nice. The ending was too over the top/forced CGI for me, and the movie did feature lots of cliche film characters/items to fill it in (stupid kids, awkward love interest), but overall I do think this will exceed peoples expectations and leave them happy.