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Despite the fact that it took years and years to build, I don't think this was ever supposed to be an E-ticket ride. It looks like a great D-ticket that the whole family can enjoy together.

Really? No one?

I try to avoid opening day. Last time I went there was a 45 minute line just to get tickets.

Cyclone does give amazing rides in the rain. I assume it has more to do with track lubrication, but I'm not a structural engineer.

According to the "Fun Facts" that Disney released, the Snow White, Dopey, and Sneezy figures at the end are new figures created for this ride, but the remaining five dwarfs are the ones from the old ride.

The actual name of the coaster was "The Southern Belle". It was changed to Rocket for the film.

The comments on YouTube indicated that the cylinder releasing is an intentional safety feature, so the problem may not be as bad as it looks.

Royalcaribbeanblog (an unofficial fan blog) got that story wrong. The ship was floated to move it slightly within the dry dock, but it won't be floated out until August.

I think the biggest factor was that the Bermuda authorities couldn't put together a plan to dredge the channel for Quantum, so they are putting Liberty of the Seas in New Jersey for the summer because it can fit into Bermuda. Liberty was originally supposed to go to Galveston to replace Navigator in May 2015 (with Navigator being the ship to go to China), but now Navigator will have to stay in Galveston through November. Once Quantum goes to Asia they will convert the bars into gambling rooms and smoking lounges (Asian passengers don't tend to drink a lot, but they do gamble), so it doesn't make much sense to convert the ship back a few months later once the weather gets too cool for Bermuda. Instead, in November 2015 Anthem will take over as the Quantum-class ship in New York, Navigator will take the spot in Fort Lauderdale originally planned for Anthem, and Liberty will finally replace Navigator in Galveston to fulfill the contractual obligations to the port to have a Freedom-class ship there.

I'm kinda disappointed that they're going with another film-based ride instead of one with practical effects. The tour used to be focused on how movies were made, not on watching movies.

I think that's just distortion from the wide angle lens on the camera.

^If you read the FAQs at the above link, it explicitly states that the menus for each venue stay the same throughout the cruise.

^Menus are at http://www.royalcaribbean.com/dynamicdining

Looks like they're going with the Norwegian Cruise Line freestyle approach for the Quantum class, which is a shame. There's no main dining room or traditional dining. Instead there are four main restaurants (plus a fifth for suite guests). Each restaurant has the same menu each night, so you are encouraged to use a different one each night. You won't get the same wait staff each night unless you eat at the same restaurant (with the same menu). You are required to make advance reservations for each night, either online or once onboard, for all the sit down restaurants. The four main restaurants are "American Icon Grill" (American comfort food), "Chic" (contemporary cuisine), "The Grande Restaurant" (every night is formal night), and "Silk" (pan-Asian cuisine). There is a fifth restaurants for suite guests called "Coastal Kitchen" (California Mediterranean fusion). Personally, I'm a bit disapointed. If I wanted freestyle dining I would sail with NCL.

In what universe? It wasn't even the first 3D movie in that theater (Magic Journeys played there first).

The STX France shipyard has released some of the first concept pictures of the 3rd Oasis-class ship at http://stxfrance.fr//UK/stxfrance-reference-34-OASIS%203.awp. Looks like the ship with have a larger solarium area and the first "big" water slide for Royal Caribbean.

MSC today announced a pair of new ships which will be about the same size as the Quantum class (although they will hold more people, which probably isn't a good thing). From http://www.orlandosentinel.com/travel/fl-msc-cruises-new-ships-20140320,0,2592771.story: I wonder what they mean by "amusement park"? Hopefully it's something more than just an Oasis-like carousel.

Stand up log flume?

^Plus SFNE is practically in Connecticut (the south end of the park almost touches the border).

Mist screen have trouble if they don't have time to rebuild in between people passing through. The one on Pirates of the Caribbean works pretty well, but the one on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland almost never gets back to the ground before the next car passes through. I can't imagine it working well with a stream of people walking through (and I don't think they could get 200 people to walk through simultaneously).

Screamscape posted this awesome video of the new effects for the final lift Hill of Big Thunder Mountain:

So... this arrived today: Despite the package being banged up, the insides were no worse for wear: There was the usual Bag of Crap collection of park brochures (I think I got one from every Disney resort except California): Then there was the actual "Bag" part of the "Bag of Crap" -- a snazzy bag from Adlabs Imagica: Inside was the mother lode! Seriously, there was tons of cool stuff in here. Theme Park Review gear (a string backpack, magnet, and pen), Adlabs Imagica Souvineers (brochure, mini map, hat, t-shirt, and water bottle), Travel Channel Insane Coaster Wars logo stuff (magnet and chap stick), some general India souvineers (photo postcards, art postcards, and a toy auto rickshaw), Amsterdam souvineers (a Holland magnet, an I amsterdam keychain, and some mini clogs), a Gold Rush Express magnet, and a brouchure for Theme Park planning services from Nicco Park. Oh, and a $25 Google Play gift card. Awsome! I never expected this much cool crap, and honestly playing the game was fun even without a prize. Thanks so much Robb and Elissa!

Email sent. Thanks for running this, it was a fun way to spend my snow days!

No idea where these clues are going yet, other than we know they at least stopped in Mumbai, perhaps to go to Esselworld. Looking at the list of parks in India, I came across the awesomely named MGM Dizzee World. I don't know if they're trying to rip off Disney MGM Studios or if it's a coincidence, but it's pretty funny nonetheless.