jedimaster1227 Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 This week was a crazy one for me as we had our A Wild Decade event in honor of Animal Kingdom's 10th Anniversary on Tuesday, April 22, 2008. Following my recovery from the fast moving day, I was able to go on Saturday of that same week to preview the new Simpsons Ride... I'll let my photos do the talking first, then I'll add a review of the ride. A Wild Decade ended up being a great event with lots of surprises and plenty of memorable moments... Once I get my group photo, I will upload that to this thread as well. I even had a chance to talk with Joe Rohde personally, and the fact that he knew who I was before we met had me swooning... She was a really great guest to our group, and a superb host for our event! May I introduce, Val Bunting, VP of Animal Kingdom! Right before our history walk, we had one surprise for our guests... After the session, we were allowed to stay in the theater for Finding Nemo: The Musical, which I had never seen before. I thought it was pretty funny that the show's soundboard had an easy button... The geodesic sphere-based Tree of Life was one of the final designs made before the version we have now was finalized. He showed us several conceptual sketches from the park, dating back to 1989. Val Bunting came out to introduce Mr. Rohde at the start of his session. Jason, Jackie and I all ran over afterwards for Joe Rohde's talk at the Theater in the Wild. After the ceremony, I ran into Val Bunting (who along with Joe Rohde wore our VIP badge all day) where I was able to thank her again for all of her help in planning A Wild Decade! The park opened, and the rededication ceremony featuring Erin Wallace, Jane Goodall and Joe Rohde began. And for much of the time, I could be seen around the tables giving people updates about the day's special activities... Here we see John and Jackie giving out our lanyards and schedules for the event. And lots of people to join us! Registration tables for A Wild Decade opened up at 6:45 am with plenty of time to spare... My parents were here and ready to help out... On April 22, 2008, Animal Kingdom celebrated its 10th anniversary. And we were there to commemorate it! Jackie celebrated his birthday with us the night before A Wild Decade at Boma!
knottslover77 Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 How were you able to attend that event? --Jay
jedimaster1227 Posted April 29, 2008 Author Posted April 29, 2008 ^I am a co-founder of the organization that ran the event. Mind you, the rededication and the Joe Rohde talk and book signing was an official Disney activity. Our event was approved by the company and they gave us several perks like reserved seats for Joe's talk, two pavilions for a group meal at the Flame Tree Barbecue and the surprise visit by Val Bunting. Now here are the Simpsons Ride photos... An oddly familiar sight... And I would have wanted to ride during this visit. It looks quite large up close... The bridge between the Mythos side of the Lost Continent and Jurassic Park is almost complete. The Wizarding World of Box Land is quickly going up. More markings... Some markings carry long numbers... Significant? Markings for Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit are showing up near the Sharp Aquos Theater. My favorite Delorean has also received the wonderful fix up treatment, and sits a few feet away from its sibling vehicle. The time traveling train from Back to the Future III has been refurbished with a new coat of paint, new lights and a new location by the former Hercules and Xena show building. The Horror Makeup Show is temporarily being used as the Chaperone Landing for Grad Night. Even though I loved Back to the Future, I think the Simpsons Ride is on par if not better than the former ride. I approve! Though it said 65 minutes, we only waited for 35... The technical rehearsals went very well, with all lines running throughout the day. Guests enter through Krusty's mouth where they can bounce on his "spongy" tongue or punch his uvula punching bag (if they can reach it). The outside part of the line has been strung with coaster decor and themed trappings that seem to blend well. It may seem more cluttered, but the new colors and fair-style stringlights just seemed to impress me. The new queue screens play on a long loop of old and new Krustyland (and Duff Gardens) footage. My favorite clip had to be the flashback to when Doc Brown tried to renew the lease for the Institute of Future Technology! Running Simpsons gags have been incorporated into the attraction in a highly themed Krustyland fashion. For those of you that were able to spend time in the Back to the Future: The Ride queue, you will notice some glaring similarities. The queue for the ride has been largely expanded to include a line closer to the entrance of the ride, themed to midway games from the outside. You will immediately notice the difference in look and feel of the former Institute of Technology building.
stingrock23 Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 That's pretty cool that you got to meet Joe Rohde. Congrats on the event
ghost007jas Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 That all sounds really cool! Great pictures, and report.
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