arrowfanman

^ No problem. They simply added some fabric behind it. BTW folks, I dont yet know if something like this has been posted, but.... ....Brent, you were very luckly to get on it when you did! When the ride opened yesterday, check out the line!... Damn AP holders! I hear supposivly it went down to City Hall in the afternoon, however I hear some people didn't have too much trouble getting on, so who knows. -Jahan

^ The California version of the attraction did not remove the talking skull and crossbones. -Jahan

^ The park already is profitable, as far as I can understand. And your right...most employees dont care. As a matter of fact, a lot of management doesn't care, to be quite honest, unfortunately. But then again, despite Shapiro crusading for a family atmosphere, I havn't hear him say much about him improving guest service standards. He seems too focused on manufacturing a family park...not operating one....planting flowers, performing shows, cutting the grass, painting buildings, and installing family rides is all he talks about. And thats cool! Really, it is! But I havn't heard much about ensuring that every staff-member watering the flowers, performing those shows, cutting that grass, working in that building, and operating that ride...I havn't heard much about ensuring that they have a smile on their face. That they are pleasant to be around. That they aren't having water-fights. And no...I'm not guilty of engaging in a water-fight. Truth is, when you get down to it, the way the employees work, act, and treat guests is a good 50% of what makes a pleasant atmosphere a pleasant atmosphere. And I havn't heard him dedicate that much of his spit into telling us that he'd improve that. Sorry to go off topic, but I needed to find some reason to say my interpretations. -Jahan

Thanks Brent! Glad to see that you were able to ride! Thanks for the PTR, always a pleasure. And I apologize for using your thread, but allow me to add my thoughts on the new stuff... From what I have seen, I am actually very pleased with the new additions to Pirates. Both the Sparrow and Barbossa characters are much cleaner in Animatronic form, so as to better fit in with the original cast of characters. Also, the animation of those new animatronics are wonderful! It's been awhile since Disneyland has recieved animatronic humans, so its nice to recieve some up-to date technology. As easy as it is to say that money is a part of it (which it is), I think that the ride needed the upgrade. There is a whole new generation of guests who now know of Pirates of the Caribbean by way of Jack Sparrow, rather than the cast of characters that you more....matured folks have grown up with loving. Plussing the attraction was the best way to ensure that the classic would survive another 40 years, in my opinion. I think that they have integrated the new characters with a lot of class and respect for those that were there. It doesn't feel like they added Jonny Depp to the attraction. It feels like they added his character, the most fresh character of my time. And frankly, while it appears that Davis was one for pushing his characters ahead of others, I think he would appreciate the character that Capt. Jack Sparrow is. Thanks for letting me vent in your thread Brent! -Jahan

^ Well tonight was the World Premier of POTC 2: Dead Man's Chest, and he was there along with Orlando Bloom and Kiera Makanvand to see the new movie, and afterwards ride the ride. -Jahan Makanvand

Thats bogus! I mean, c'mon! Volcano doesn't have the tallest inversion! -Jahan

Jahan: So....when we close, do you think I could keep the Tatsu test seat? Jahan's Supervisor: We're not closing! Jahan: Ok! [long pause] Jahan: What about the Riddler's one? Jahan's Supervisor: I told you, we're not closing! -Jahan

Lol...Sups at SFMM make like, 8.50.

^ Because the city cant even take on the responsiblities of running a city properly!

Day 1--The Weekend Market Alright folks...we woke up the next day, Sunday, and I finally realized that I was in Thailand. Despite still being tired from traveling, we didn't want to waste a whole day, so we decided to go to the Weekend Market. On the way to the Weekend Market. The Weekend Market is an endless row of 6' by 6' shops...these little tiny shops that are only opened on the weekends...hence the name. These shops are owned by normal people, who want to sell goods that they have grown, caught, bought, or made. Its basically a swap meet. And they had everything. I almost thought of buying a pirated movie for the flight back, but I dont think that they flight crew would appreciate me watching Flight 93 on the plane! Taadaa! The Weekend Market! All of the shops were located around this cool tower thing. If you were a lamp, and you were looking at me...this is what I would look like! It didn't take long for that damn heat & humidity to kick in! This should cool me off! I actually prefer Thai coke to US coke. Dried Squid......Yuuuuummmmyyy. Why in hell is there a Marines sweatshirt here? For one, this is Thailand, and for two, its 100 degrees out! The only thing cooler than seeing another culture, is seeing another culture's take on your culture! You know what the sad part is? The were actually pretty good! Reminds me of that 'Hey Arnold' episode! Alright folks...I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I dont have a lot of time this week, so I'm squeezing in pieces of the report where I can. I should have the next section up soon. Until then, enjoy!

....continued from the last post. Yay! This stupid flight is finally over! Trying to figure out where the hell we go in order to connect. Once we landed at Narita, we connected switched planes, and again was off on a 6 hour flight to Bangkok! Yuck! I slept the whole flight, which was nice. .....again, how did I take this picture?! Yay! We finally made it to Thailand! (The KING of duty-free, BTW). Anyway, as soon as we left the airport, the humidity hit us like a wall! It was the worst humidity I've ever felt, and it was at 11:30 at night! We caught a rip-off private car, and went to our hotel. I didn't even pay much attention to the hotel, as I was so damn tired. We got to our bedroom, plopped into the rock-hard beds (injuring our backs in the process!), and went right to sleep after over 24 hours of "traveling", from packing to arriving. Stay tuned for my first day in Thailand at a local marketplace!

Hello folks. Lets start this off right away... I am a wimp. A big one. I have a small comfort zone. Inside of that comfort zone, you have pizza, Disneyland, Kiera Knightly Makanvand, etc. Outside of that comfort zone, you have spiders, exotic foods, and Joey Malone, etc. So when my dad told me that I had an opportunity to tag along with him on his upcoming business trip to Thailand, I had a big decision to make! Could I make that big of a jump out of my comfort zone? After all, I had never been out of the United States before! Could I go all that way, especially since I had to fly back to the U.S. by myself? Well, I pondered, and soon afterwards, accepted the proposal. I was going to Thailand. I hoped to hang out with my dad, expirence a new culture first hand, and of course, perhaps widen that comfort zone of mine. So without further adeui, the photo trip report... Day 0--Getting There The day started with a simple drive to the Van Nuys flyaway, where we were then bussed to LAX. This was the day immediately[/i after my Disneyland Grad Nite, so I was utterly exhausted. I even slept on the bus! There, once at LAX, we checked in the luggage, got our tickets, and headed for the terminal. Once at the terminal I began to show my dad some of my Grad Nite pictures, when all of a sudden everybody got up and headed to the window behind us. We turned around and saw a HUGE ass plume of smoke! It was massive! The area actually darkened because of it! Fire!!!! Whats the number for 911?! We dont know what caused the fire, but whatever it was, it was out in a matter of 45 seconds due to an amazing response by LAX fire crews. Lets go get it boys! Literally it took about 45 seconds from conception to extinguisheption! Anyway, we dont know if this was fire related or not, but we were soon moved to another terminal, where we met up with my Dad's coworker, Shawn...interestingly enough, my dad's name is Shawn too. Anyway, we boarded our Japan Airlines flight after hours of waiting around. Yay...we made it to the plane! The first leg of the flight was aproximately 10 hours, to Narita (Tokyo) Airport Thank God we didn't stop in Oregon! We had this cool downwards camera on the airplane! Unfortunately it was disabled during the takeoff/landing, rendering it sorta pointless! The flight was veeeerry long. Wait...how did I take this picture if I was really sleeping?! I gotta hand it to you Guy...Your girlfriends even cute in Japanese! ....continued in the next post....

^^ Why? More arguements go down in the CP Project 2007 thread than in these threads.

*twitches*

This might be a stupid thought, but its a thought... What if it keeps flipping in that first raven. You know how on X, you remain in the lying position throughout the whole raven. Well this raven is very awkwardly shaped. It sort of turns 150 degrees, then straightens out, then turns another 90, then straightens out again, then plummets back down. Perhaps it is awkwardly shaped because the trains dont simply remain in the flying position, but rather continue flipping forward, doing one front flip at the top of the raven. At least it was a thought. -Jahan

Thanks for posting man! They didn't fully fit on my screen, but I feel like I got the just of it! Dollywood seems like a VERY nice little park. They look like they operate the way most parks should. -Jahan

I think "The Riddler's Revenge" is a beautiful name. A well balanced sound. Wordy enough, and not too wordy. Establishes quite an experience. -Jahan Ok I'll shut up!

I was looking through some old threads....are you guys still thinking about making a final trip to Nara Dreamland before it closes? -Jahan "If so, can I fit in your suitcase" Makanvand

TPR already has a reputation for being a R&E Fanclub....I dont think we need to reaffirm that in the T-Shirts! -Jahan

^ The suite has always been there. It was initially designed for Walt Disney. I guess since he never stayed there, then its ok to put guests there, because if they dared to put guests in the Firehouse Apartment at Disneyland, your going to have Disney-fan-suicide bombers in protest. Anyway, I really hope that they clean up Rockit Mountain if they're going to officially use it. Strickly from an operations standpoint, I'm now against the idea as it will take 30 minutes to do the switchover! Think about it...they will have to end the FastPasses early, shut off the standby line early, cycle the line out, close the ride, take 30 minutes to switch over from Space to Rockit, and then reopen it for a mere few hours. -Jahan

I met you 1/2 way up Tatsu's lift hill, huh? Lol...thats awesome. I would soooo be a CM if it wasn't for the fact that an hour and 1/2 long drive would kill me. Robb knows what I'm talking about. Perhaps if I happened to transfer to a school that happened to be down that way, I would happen to get a job there. Well, see you around. I'm equally a dork, so I'm sure to be down there this summer. -Jahan

Thats an awesome sketch! Good job man! I might sketch an idea or two...I'm not proficient in making anything on the computer, but I'll try. Perhaps I'll have someone else help me. -Jahan p.s. When is the due date?

Lol...yea, sorry Robb and Elissa, I forgot to say that wasn't your cesoring! I guess I didn't think that people would actually read this! I made the mistake of posting this on a Disney site first, which pretty much neutered my posts! I will first be going to the community college COC. As for a job...I dont think I could stay at SFMM for a whole 2 more years! It wasn't meant to be that long term of a thing! Oh well...maybe if they promote me too....park manager, then I'll stay. Unless you came for a Grad Nite, Rockit Mountain wouldn't have been open. It is only open to the graduates of Grad Nite. Now, Space Mountain is what was open (Rockit Mountain is essentially a Rockin Roller Coaster overlay of Space Mountain). Space Mountain is actually a good ride, and quite honestly, I would wait for that. Although...for 2 hours...I dont think so. As for Julie's "dressing up" comment, yes, I did see several dressed up guests in the park. I think the dressing up part is a choice, and depends on your schools rules, or if you have a reminiscing-parent... No offense to the sanctity of the event, but I'm glad that I didn't dress up. As for DATman, if there were Chaminadians, I wouldn't know, as the very first rule in the dress code is that you cannot wear spiritwear, lettermen jackets, etc. They dont want fights to break out. Welp folks...thanks for readin and commenting!...or at least looking at the pictures! Thanks again! -Jahan

...alright, for the last time...this report is a continuation of the last post. Welcome to the finale! Where was I? Oh yea! Rockit Mountain!.... Photo wise, I don't really "spoil" the ride. But I will be describing the ride, so skip past it to the Matterhorn if you don't want to read it... You take off, and proceed up the first lift, which has received a lighting change from red to purple. At this point you meet your "Space DJ". He was kind of cheesy, but he addressed us as "Graduates" so we can know that he is temporary. We turned to the charge up tunnel... Uh...hello? This is exactly the same! Do you realise how easy it would be to change this scene! They could have changed the lights or something...but whatever. This pic didn't really come out, so I felt free to post it. Next we came to the second lift, where we heard some strange Bass Guitar noises, and saw this psychedelic light show on the walls. It didn't really contribute much to the ride. Finally we emerged into what was supposed to be "space". ...It wasn't. you can totally see the track structure, the walls, and all of the light effects below you. They had some stupid silhouettes of dancers on the ceiling and what was most disappointing is that the stupid asteroid still wasn't working! While the music wasn't Van Halen, it wasn't bad IMO, and the transition into it was cool. The ride effects were just from ok to stupid. Like they had blinking lights on the emergency catwalks. ...ok? Why? The arches (which there were more than we thought) looked cool, but that was it. And how much of the structure I could see was kind of disappointing. It wasn't as bad as people said, but you could definitely see everything if you looked. You felt like you were going slower because of it! Anyway, I left Rockit Mountain rather underwhelmed. I'm glad I waited (the wait ended up only being about an hour, 25 minutes!), but I am disappointed in how it turned out. For those of you who have seen Robb Alvey's video of the Hong Kong Space Mountain, you know that they received more effects than ours did. And I believe its due to the fact we got this "overlay", which is rather disappointing as it didn't provide. Anyway, lets continue...after Rockit we headed for the Matterhorn, as we had about a half an hour left. At this point we could see dawn on the horizon. Now I took a 4-hour nap in preparation for Grad Nite, but the morning was clearly taking its toll on everyone else... Or is that because I'm flashing the camera in their eyes? By the time that we got up to the Matterhorn, day had broken. I always thought that the bobsleds had retractable bumpers in case they did bump....now I know that they have retractable bumper because they DO bump! Harold, congratulating me for surviving 4 years of boredom. The Matterhorn was fun, as usual. By the time it was over, it was time to go....so we left. CM's were already out and about preparing the park for the day ahead of them. Some random dancer people. It was really nice being in Disneyland at this time. It was the one and only time I have ever seen it in this light, at 6:00 in the morning. The music was off by then, and everybody was tired as hell, so it was very peaceful. If I didn't have to get to the >admin edit< bus, I would have liked to sit on a bench with a hot chocolate, and just...sit. Live. Enjoy. The slow procession back to the buses. Well, I hope that you guys have enjoyed my Photo TR! I sure hope so, because it took me a few hours to put together! In the end, I am glad that I went. I got all of the major attractions in, and it was a different experience for me. I just cant wait to get back to the Disneyland that I know. Thanks for reading! -Jahan "I'm tired just from reading this!" Makanvand

...continued from the last post...as usual. Ok, like I said, without music the fireworks seemed rather blah. Out of all honesty, it was simply a rehash of Remember...Dreams Come True. I saw them shoot fireworks between the Castle and Matterhorn like in the Pirates sequence, I saw Tink flying, they shot shells around the hub...I believe they even used the fire from Indy's sequence! I would have thought that it was Remember if it wasn't for the fact that it had a different name and was advertised as "designed exclusively for you Grads". Also, as some of you may know, Disneyland usually can only shoot fireworks off until 10:00 PM, due to environmental/neighbor concerns. Until I saw the show, I couldn't understand why they had fireworks shows at 2:00, 3:00, and 4:00 in the morning! Once I saw the show, I understood why. They used all low level fireworks and relatively small ones. The ones that only make a noise at the launching mortar, and don't go "boom", where you can feel the noise in your chest. I like those ones better! Here are some more pics of the show... I know that they aren't much, but taking pics of fireworks with my camera is a >admin edit<, so your going to enjoy them! Oooohh! Ahhhhh! >admin edit< finale's to bright for this exposure setting! Anyway, enough about the fireworks. For those just joining us, I've been waiting in line for Rockit Mountain. I know! I have been since the last post! I really hoped that they would change the exterior for Rockit Mountain. I was hoping for a cool red...that would look sweet! Uh oh! TJ's starting to go again! Ahhah! No wonder they couldn't change the fiber-optic entrance sign to say Rockit Mountain! Because some genius put permanent "Space Mountain" signs at the building entrance! Wow...*sigh*. I guess its an honest mistake. Even all the maps said "Space Mountain...is rockin" or something like that. The queue is the same as Space's queue...why are they calling it a layover then? The coolest part of Rockit was that, for the time being, it was personalized to us! I've never had a ride personalized to me before! With the exception of this text on the "window", the station was completely and utterly unchanged! It was such a disappointment! Alright folks...for the last time....the report will finish in the next post!...