Last week, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions held their annual expo in Orlando. At the convention, ride manufacturers showed off their latest creations and parks revealed even more details of their new attractions!
Here’s some links to some of the news that we covered in other articles:
The first news we’re going to talk about is out of the RMC booth. Our friend Brent from Pixels at the Parks sent us pictures of the booth.
The two models the company offered until recently are the I-Box steel track and the topper track. They are pictured in the above image with I-Box on the left and Topper Track on the right.
I-Box track is used on roller coasters like Twisted Colossus and Wicked Cyclone. Instead of a wood layer underneath a thin steel top, it uses a purely steel track. This steel track requires minimal maintenance compared to the wooden track featured on the original versions of these rides.
On the right is the RMC topper track. With layers of wood and a piece of steel on top of the track, this is what allows rides like Outlaw Run to be called wooden coasters. It uses a system that allows for smooth, versatile, and fun rides!
In addition to their two track types that revolutionized the wooden coaster, it appears that Rocky Mountain construction is venturing into the steel coaster market with their latest two offerings.
The first of the two new offerings is this wild looking track, the T-Rex track! On a first impression, it looks as if it’s just a giant steel table, but this is a one-rail steel track!
This is a video of the new concept, which has been a hot topic in the community since preliminary images were released. The ride looks like another wacky and incredible Rocky Mountain Construction design!
Although it seemed to be a “sleeper” announcement at the conference, Rocky Mountain Construction also revealed a new family roller coaster track. The green track looks very similar to that of the I-Box track, but it is of a larger size. From the looks of it, I think it is for another one rail coaster. It will definitely be interesting to see what a Rocky Mountain Construction family coaster will be like.
With a launch, a backwards section, and a drop on it, the new Zamperla Family Coaster will be one of the company’s most unique and innovative attractions to date. Similar to Verbolten (although Verbolten was a Zierer coaster), this will be another product from the company suitable for guests of all ages.
Extreme Engineering Zipline Coaster:
One of the strangest and most interesting new attractions offered at the expo was the Extreme Engineering zipline Coaster. Although some may not be excited by this, I certainly am. I heard good things about it from a couple of riders and I’d love to see
A few months ago, Playland Castaway Cove revealed details on their next roller coaster, Gale Force. As the first S&S Launched El Loco, the company revealed the above new trains for the new product at the expo! They look like very nice trains similar to those on Cannibal at Lagoon.
Quassy Announces New Ride:
The SBF Visa Group and Quassy Amusement Park announced their newest attraction, Reverse Time, at the IAAPA Expo. It will be the first installation of this flat ride in the United States.
Yes, that’s right, the Philadelphia Toboggan Company still exists, and they now offer roller coaster trains that can go upside-down! They revealed their brand new “PTCI 360” trains with the interesting design shown above. I’m not sure what to think about them.
The company also revealed a new device to help those who are handicapped to enter roller coaster cars. The lift will hopefully make roller coasters more accessible to those who have a hard time riding.
Fun Spot – Crazy Couch and VR Testing:
Very early in the IAAPA conference, it was rumored that Fun Spot bought a Skyline Attractions Crazy Couch. Shortly thereafter, the park confirmed this, and as of Wednesday, November 25th, the attraction is operating at the park!
In addition to this, the park’s Freedom Flyer coaster was also used to showcase virtual reality technology on roller coasters. According to those who rode, the technology brought a fantastic new element to the ride and was perfectly synchronized to the actual ride.
Phobia Phear Coaster Trains Revealed:
Premier Rides and Lake Compounce showcased the trains for the latest Sky Rocket II clone coming to the park this year. Luckily, these will not have the dreaded “comfort” collars found on Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s Tempesto.
Maurer Sohne revealed their newest products at the IAAPA Expo, which included a wing coaster and a bike coaster! It’s interesting to see more manufacturers offering these relatively new ride concepts.
New Skyplex Renderings:
Finally, in addition to all of the above news, the developers of Skyplex and Intamin released the latest renderings for the wild polercoaster! The ride is going to break even more world records as it will feature the world’s tallest vertical launch, which will take riders from 24 feet below the ground and up to over 500 feet in the air, straight into the world’s highest inversion!
Also, with this new rendering, images of the world’s tallest drop tower, Skyfall, were shown for the first time. Another notable feature is an example of a US Thrill Rides “Unicoaster,” which appears to be a modern version of Knoebels’s Looper flat ride, is located near the final inversion of the roller coaster.
What do you think of these IAAPA announcements? Let us know by commenting below! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
Today, at the IAAPA Expo, Dollywood unveiled a new way to preview their next roller coaster, Lightning Rod! On their YouTube channel, the park uploaded two new videos of the world’s first launched wooden roller coaster, which will debut in March 2016.
Here, I have the videos of the new attraction. The 2D POV located above is viewable anywhere, but the 3D POV below is not compatible in some browsers such as Safari and is compatible with virtual reality goggles for those who have them.
Lightning Rod is 30% complete with 70% of the footers installed for the attraction according to the park. The Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) roller coaster will be one of the tallest and fastest wooden coasters the world upon opening. It will also feature a number of interesting elements including a quadruple down. It will definitely have the RMC touch.
What do you think about Lightning Rod? Let us know by commenting below! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
Today, Kings Dominion began the demolition of their stand-up roller coaster, Shockwave. Shockwave closed last August in order to make way for a brand new “frisbee” flat ride, Delirium.
The park posted a video to their Facebook page of the first track piece being removed today. Based on the video, the roller coaster will most likely not operate at another park, even though Kings Dominion recently listed it on a ride selling website. It seems that the removed track segment has been destroyed to a point where it could not be used again on another ride.
Delirium will be a Mondial Revolution ride, similar to that of a HUSS Frisbee or Zamperla Giant Discovery. It will bring a new flat ride to Kings Dominion, which will fill a hole in the lineup of the park.
Personally, I am excited to see Delirium making its way into the park, but I am sad that we did not get a chance to take any construction photos while we were at the park last month (but that’s just for selfish reasons).
What do you think about Delirium? Will you miss Shockwave? Let us know by commenting below! You can follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Also, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
In 2016, Busch Gardens Tampa will add yet another incredible roller coaster to their lineup, Cobra’s Curse. Now, we have even more details of the ride!
Today, at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo (IAAPA) in Orlando, Busch Gardens Tampa and the manufacturer Mack Rides revealed a model of the attraction along with some new concept art. Lucky enough, we’ve got pictures of both for you to enjoy!
For the first time, we were given a look at the full layout of the ride. With a large elevator lift, a giant king cobra, and a curving layout that will interact with plants and themed buildings, this attraction is set to become a great new family ride for the thrill heavy park. Two more noteworthy features are the awesome looking outward banked turn early in the ride, and a second lift hill!
Cobra’s Curse construction has rapidly increased in pace recently. Although we can’t provide construction updates from Busch Gardens Tampa, our friends over at Pixels at the Parks certainly can! They’ve got some great updates for this project and others including SeaWorld Orlando’s Mako! You can view their Cobra’s Curse updates here!
What do you think about the Cobra’s Curse layout? Let us know by commenting below! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! Last, but not least, TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
In August of 2015, the TP&T team hopped on a plane and flew out for an incredible adventure in California. The visit included visiting several of Southern California’s incredible list of theme parks and learning about the history of the Walt Disney Company. In our visit, we went to The Jim Henson Company, Walt Disney Studios, Imagineering, various Hollywood attractions, and the Disneyland resort as part of the Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic tour. After the five day tour, we continued our journey as we visited Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, and Six Flags Magic Mountain before returning home. In this article and several other articles full of photos, we invite you to join us in TP&T’s California Adventure! So sit back, relax, and get ready to journey into the Wonderful World of the entertainment industry!
For those of you first reading this series, welcome! I strongly recommend reading some of the previous articles. Links are below!
Part 1 – Hollywood – We visit several Hollywood destinations as our Backstage Magic tour begins! Enjoy photos and information from Disney Studios and our fantastic visit to Imagineering. You can find the article here!
Part 2 – An Evening in Disneyland – In this trip report, we journeyed through endless traffic on the Los Angeles highways and wound up at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! This article will take you within the gates of the original theme park as we spend a very exciting evening in the park. You can find the article here!
Part 3 – A Day in the Happiest Place on Earth – With this photo update, you follow us into the original theme park as we venture through a park filled with hidden finds and awesome attractions. Oh yeah, we also went into the Dream Suite (and I have pics)! You can read the trip report here!
BONUS – I’ve got a Fantasmic! video up on the YouTube Channel! You can view the video here!
Just in case you couldn’t tell from the title, our next leg of the California trip brought us to Disney California Adventure. After our long day in Disneyland, we got some sleep, and woke up early the next day to meet with the Adventures by Disney group. After getting ready, we had a character breakfast at the Grand Californian, and made our way into the park!
It was early in the day when we entered Disney California Adventure, which meant that the Grizzly Peak section of the park looked beautiful with the light!
We were unsure of where we were going, but our Adventure Guides took us over to Grizzly Peak Airfield.
I have to say, the area looked like an airport, but it was not the best themed Disney land.
In the distance, the glamorous 1930s Hollywood soared above the park.
Soon, we were told we would be riding Soarin’ over California!
The buildings were nicely themed and fit very well into the land as a whole.
We talked with a member of the Soarin’ maintenance team, and then the group was escorted into the massive building.
We rode Soarin’, which had been updated with new 4K projectors as part of the ride’s recent renovation. As always, it was a fun attraction that fit very well into the area. It was also nice that we didn’t have to wait for it like we did in Florida! Afterwards, we were told to stay in the area, so I got this unique shot of what it looks like above Soarin’.
Soon, we were escorted behind the projector for the ride! Although I was unable to take pictures, I did find this picture via InPark Magazine
Vekoma also had a good picture that could show what we experienced back there. They let us stay down there during a ride through of the attraction, so we got a nice view of how it works. Although the ride has minimal movements, it really creates an immersive experience. The cars appear to travel up and down a little bit and tilt from side to side. That’s all it took. A few tricks are also used on the ride to create the illusion of flight, one of which was that when tilting to the left, the car on the right is highest, and left is lowest, which adds to the effect.
Next, we went into the backstage areas of Soarin’. Inside, they showed us the chemicals they use to recreate smells and showed us the erector kit model that the ride was based on. The chemicals come in a salt-like form from what I remember. When Soarin’ Around the World flies in next year (read that last sentence again if you didn’t notice the pun), I expect to smell all around the world!
After soaring over California, it was time for everyone’s favorite place, the restroom! By that point in the day, we knew about an unannounced Disney ride (at the time), Soarin’ Around the World. That’s right folks, I reported it two whole days before it was announced (we were at DCA August 13th, it was announced August 15th)! Anyway, now that I’m done bragging, I’d like to share my thoughts on the coming attraction. It will be great in Shanghai and Epcot, but terrible in DCA. The ride is in a park themed to California, and the land was just renovated to fit even more closely to many of the places featured in the ride (Sequoia/Yosemite). I’m sorry, but I think that explains it all.
Anyway, I think that concludes my Soarin’ rant. Everyone’s said what I said before, but I just thought I’d say it too. I loved the rock work in the land. It looked fantastic in the morning light!
The buildings were the perfect colors and style too. I think the renovation looks fantastic.
While waiting in Grizzly Peak Airfield, I caught a glimpse of our next destination, Carthay Circle.
In the park’s “hub,” guests were starting to pour in.
Standing up above was the beautiful Carthay restaurant!
The decorations on the building for Disneyland’s 60th Anniversary looked fantastic!
Inside, we took a long tour of the restaurant. Inside, there are a number of pictures of Walt and interesting details hidden throughout. Just look at the tabletops, you may notice something in the wood!
After a while of touring the restaurant, I was yearning to ride something. It looked like we were done, but we had another stop on the restaurant tour.
We entered DCA’s exclusive Club 1901, which is what the Adventure guides described to us as “Platinum Level Club 33.” Although the inside was beautiful, I needed a thrill (or a soda, but they weren’t giving us food/drink because it appeared to be closed).
Finally, after an hour of touring the restaurant, we began our walk to the next attraction!
The moment we got here, I was incredibly excited!
We entered the beautiful Radiator Springs, which is one of the best theme park lands out there (and that’s coming from someone who hates the movie Cars)!
The land looked as if it was straight out of the movie, assuming you replace Cars with people, and stick about quadruple the population of the town into it.
The Cozy Cone was one of the nicest looking buildings in town, I just wish they’d made it a real hotel!
Flo’s Cafe looked just like the one in the movie.
It reminds me of a nicer version of Sonic. 🙂
I wonder how many people have tried to knock down this tower?
Overall, Radiator Springs was a beautiful land. Disney added several little details to enhance the land as they always do. Some of the most noticeable details were how the stoplight flashes slightly longer one time than the others, and when night comes the land lights up slowly in segments.
Finally, it was time for an attraction! Half the group went backstage while half of us walked up to Radiator Springs Racers! The “Paddle of Power” photobombed my shot, I tried three times and I missed getting an unobstructed picture for different reasons every time.
The queue for the ride was beautiful!
On my one ride, I filmed a mounted POV of Radiator Springs Racers! I do not recommend doing this unless you are experienced with filming rides. I used a GoPro Jaws Flex Clamp mount and attached it quickly and easily to a bar on the ride. I am saying this because this is probably the easiest and only way you can do what I did. There was nothing in the rules of the park at the time saying this was not allowed (and as far as I know it still is allowed), and our Adventure Guides found out afterwards and did not say it was bad, but instead said how awesome that was. As far as I could tell, everything was okay, but I urge not to film without experience in that manner (I’ve done a couple of mount tests before on a car).
Here’s a fun game, is it Radiator Springs Racers or is it real?
How about this one?
Last, but not least, this one! Be sure to comment below or send us your answers on Twitter!
Radiator Springs Racers was an incredible attraction. It brought Test Track to a new level. The racing aspect, rock work, indoor theming, and a course that wasn’t just a circle all combined into a fantastic ride!
Shortly afterwards, we were escorted behind the ride and into the machine room of Radiator Springs Racers. Inside, we learned bit about what they do for maintenance and how the ride works. Essentially, these cars are a disaster for maintenance. Frequently, they are taken into the shop and are completely rebuilt (I believe this is every nine months, but I can’t remember). After the extensive rehab, which takes weeks, but used to take much longer than it does now, the cars return to regular circulation. There are SEVERAL cars on the ride and in maintenance at once.
Radiator Springs Racers also has one of the most detailed control panels available in its maintenance shop. The televisions within display every aspect of the ride for the crews to view. The animatronics frequently break and are repaired overnight. I believe two of them were down by the time we rode.
After the backstage adventure, we walked through cast member only zones and into Paradise Pier. There, we waited for the remainder of the group before our next attraction.
That next attraction was Toy Story Midway Mania. The entire tour group was brought onto the ride. Due to the fact that I was sitting next to an Adventure Guide who helped expose some of the secrets of the game for me, I proudly beat the rest of the TP&T crew!
While in Paradise Pier, California Screamin’ was down (it was testing in this picture).
Since we were getting hungry, we decided to go grab some lunch!
The hot California sun didn’t help our thirst either as the tour group dispersed (with five any-attraction fastpasses)!
Using the Disneyland app, we found a nice sit down restaurant in the white building.
The Cove bar had delicious food with a beautiful view of Paradise Pier. Food options were mainly appetizers, but the sliders, pizza, and spinach and artichoke dip were all delicious. The service was very good too!
Mickey’s Fun wheel was one of the few attractions I wished I had rode, but didn’t get to ride while at Disney California Adventure.
Testing continued throughout lunch, that ride has a lot of trains running at once!
During lunch, the ride reopened, and waits instantly soared up to thirty minutes or so.
I love the California Screamin’ logo!
California Screamin’ was one great Intamin! It really is what ties Paradise Pier together as a land. It was a very smooth, long, and flat out fun ride!
Speaking of California Screamin’, I filmed a POV of the awesome coaster! Unfortunately, my GoPro mount broke (literally, the main container holding the GoPro) before I got on. Unfortunately, I had to hold onto the camera throughout the ride, but luckily the footage still turned out pretty good!
I have to say, the new DCA is just a beautiful park. If Hollywood Studios looks like this once it’s complete, my excitement will be through the roof!
Across the way from California Screamin’, it was time for us to venture Under the Sea!
I thought The Little Mermaid was a fun attraction. It essentially summarized the entire movie for guests, but it is definitely a good dark ride for the little kids!
The building also had some beautiful architectural details!
After riding the Little Mermaid, we walked our way around Grizzly Peak trying to get into Hollywood. I’m not sure why, but we did take that long route!
Grizzly Peak reminded me of Yellowstone!
Even the plants fit in perfectly with the rapids ride!
It almost looked like a hot spring back there.
Passing through the hub again, the crowds were noticeably lower than before.
Overall, Hollywood Land was a decently themed area.
The facades looked great, with designs that look much better than those of actual Los Angeles.
Even Disney Junior fit well into the land.
The only problem with the land was this. I think the painting is very well done, but it just doesn’t fit well enough into the landscape of the town. I understand doing this at a place like Hollywood Studios, where the Streets of America represent a movie lot, but they should have placed an actual facade here.
It was time to be terror-fied! 🙂
We entered the queue, went through the pre-show, and entered the service room for the hotel. All of a sudden, we were going upstairs into a second service room above. It was strange, but it made sense to increase loading capacity. The ride started with a move backwards into the ride’s scenes. Eventually, you make your way up, and quickly transition into the drop sequence (unlike the Florida ride, which features a forward moving section of the drop tower). In this version, I felt like the drop sequence was longer, which is great. I love the drop on these rides, and they are the only drop towers I’ve ever enjoyed.
It was getting late and hot that afternoon. While some members of the tour took advantage of reserved seating at the Aladdin show, we went for a ride on Monsters Inc! Like Ariel, it was another fun ride that essentially summarized the movie. These two rides bring the classic dark ride into a modern context.
Since we were going back for a break in the hotel, we walked down through Grizzly Peak.
Using one of the fastpasses, I got one soaking and fun ride on the park’s water ride! I loved it! In my opinion, it was very comparable to Animal Kingdom’s Kali River Rapids (although I haven’t been on that in a while). I liked the overall theme more, and would rank this slightly above.
As it got late in the evening, we relaxed in our room for a little while before returning into the park for dinner and some more fun! Included in our tour was a meal at the Carthay Circle restaurant (as you recall, I “loved” touring it). Unfortunately, the service was slow, but my meal was okay. I had one of three items listed on the limited menu they gave us, the chicken. The meal just took a lot of time (and if you don’t have my diet coke out within fifteen minutes from me ordering it, that brings you down several points in my book).
We finished the meal, and moved on to Paradise Pier for the evening’s showing of World of Color! Meanwhile, our friends from Extended Queue also happened to be in the park that night (sadly, we didn’t bump into them). Adventures by Disney then brought us to a reserved area with a great view of the show. Overall, it was a decent show. Essentially, it was a very long Disney commercial. I wouldn’t say NPH ruined the show, but I would say that it wasn’t as good as some of the other shows at the Disneyland Resort due to the nature of it. It had a high emphasis on Frozen (we were “privileged” to listen to the entirety of “Let it Go”) and otherwise it was mostly a Disneyland commercial. Not particularly exciting.
Afterwards, it was almost time to go. While the rest of the group went back to the hotel, I got one more ride in on Soarin’ before I left. Although the people surrounding me on the attraction were rude and annoying (leaning on me, swearing loudly with young kids near them, and swinging the car while cast members requested for them to stop), it was still a magnificent ride. It was a great way to end my visit to the Disneyland Resort. The next day, we’d head down the road to what was once a family owned berry farm!
What did you say for the questions earlier in the update? Let us know by commenting below! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr! TP&T is now available on Apple News! Just search “Theme Parks and Travels” in the app, and hit the subscribe button!
Alabama’s Splash Adventure has revealed the details of their 2016 expansion! The exciting news includes two new rides and overall improvements to the park’s amenities.
Let’s start with the new amenities:
World’s Largest Pepsi Oasis & Rampage Pepsi Oasis – The park is continuing to expand its drink offerings by expanding their Pepsi Oasis locations!
The General’s Diner – A brand new restaurant is coming to the park! The General’s diner will bring another food option to Alabama’s Splash Adventure!
As for new the new rides:
Drop Zone – As the first of two attractions coming to the park next year, Drop Zone will be a Zamperla Drop tower made for guests of all ages to ride. They are not the tallest rides, but they do provide a good thrill suitable for most guests.
Tea Cups – The second new attraction will be for the park’s younger guests. Alabama’s Splash Adventure is installing a brand new Tea Cups ride next year! These are always fun rides for the whole family.
What do you think about Alabama Splash Adventure’s 2016 Expansion? Let us know by commenting below! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr!
Today, Comcast, the parent company of the Universal Studios resorts, announced their earnings for the third quarter of 2015. Within the report, they included some news about their theme parks. This news is of record attendance and revenue from the parks over the summer!
According to the company, record summer attendance for their parks allowed for a 14.1% increase in revenue in the company’s theme park division. This increase in attendance is likely due to the new Fast and Furious: Supercharged attraction at the Hollywood park and guests flocking to Universal’s Orlando park to visit the recently expanded Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
The revenue increased from $786 million last year to $896 million this year for the quarter. This is an incredible amount of growth in one year. Operating cash flow increased 14% for the quarter from $402 million last year to $458 million this year. For the first nine months of the year, theme park revenue also increased from $1.9 billion to $2.3 billion in 2015. This is an increase of 2.9%.
With a high increase in attendance and revenue this year, it will definitely be interesting to see what happens next year with the additions of Skull Island: Reign of Kong in Orlando, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in California, and the incredible new B&M flying coaster called The Flying Dinosaur at their Japan park. It will also be interesting to see if they will finally succumb to the demands of the Orlando annual passholders and provide plastic passes with this incredible growth! 🙂
What do you think of Universal’s recent growth? Are you mad that they don’t have plastic passes even with all of this money?Let us know by commenting below! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr!
Skyplex Orlando was set to become an incredible retail and entertainment district featuring the world’s tallest roller coaster and the world’s tallest drop tower when it opens in 2018, but recent news today is making this goal more challenging to achieve. Why will this be so hard? The answer, the neighbors of Skyplex Orlando, the Universal Orlando Resort.
With the backing of their parent company Comcast, Universal Orlando Resort fought the developers of the impressive new complex today in front of the Orange County Development Committee. They recommended that the project continue, but with height restrictions. They pointed to complaints from a nearby residential neighborhood while Skyplex’s developers pointed to nearby residents in support of the development. Without the height, the 700 foot tall tower with a 501 foot tall roller coaster would not be the same. The FAA approved the height of the Polercoaster in July.
Skyplex is one of many nearby developments that Universal has opposed recently. The theme park recently filed a lawsuit against the hotels surrounding a lake connected to their waterpark, Wet n’ Wild, because they drain into the lake. In the past, the waterpark had used the lake for recreational activities and shows, but they claim that it is currently un-usable because of the condition of the lake. The waterpark is set to close at the end of 2016, which leads several to believe that they are filing the lawsuit because they want to fill in the lake.
Several members of the theme park community have attributed Universal’s opposition to the project to the fact that the tower will be visible from within the park. It is similar to their complaint at draining into the lake. In my opinion, this is a ridiculous move by Universal Orlando. It prevents the development of another fantastic attraction that would bring people to International Drive and their park. Another problem I have with their opposition is that they used to be the underdogs. Disney developed Hollywood Studios to prevent them from emerging, and they are doing this to prevent Skyplex from emerging. In the past, Disney was portrayed as the “bad guys” for this, but now it seems Universal has done the same. It is definitely a sad day to see Universal doing what they are doing.
What do you think about Universal’s response to the Skyplex development? Let us know by commenting below! Also, be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on Periscope, YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr!
In August of 2015, the TP&T team hopped on a plane and flew out for an incredible adventure in California. The visit included visiting several of Southern California’s incredible list of theme parks and learning about the history of the Walt Disney Company. In our visit, we went to The Jim Henson Company, Walt Disney Studios, Imagineering, various Hollywood attractions, and the Disneyland resort as part of the Adventures by Disney Backstage Magic tour. After the five day tour, we continued our journey as we visited Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, and Six Flags Magic Mountain before returning home. In this article and several other articles full of photos, we invite you to join us in TP&T’s California Adventure! So sit back, relax, and get ready to journey into the Wonderful World of the entertainment industry!
For those of you first reading this series, welcome! I strongly recommend reading some of the previous articles. Links are below!
Part 1 – Hollywood – We visit several Hollywood destinations as our Backstage Magic tour begins! Enjoy photos and information from Disney Studios and our fantastic visit to Imagineering. You can find the article here!
Part 2 – An Evening in Disneyland – In this trip report, we journeyed through endless traffic on the Los Angeles highways and wound up at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland! This article will take you within the gates of the original theme park as we spend a very exciting evening in the park. You can find the article here!
BONUS – I’ve got a Fantasmic! video up on the YouTube Channel! You can view the video here!
After staying in Disneyland until shortly before closing time, which meant we left around 10:30 or 11pm, we went to sleep only to wake up around 6am. I woke up in my five foot long bunk bed not ready to go into the park. We wandered down to a place I honestly am not a fan of, Starbucks. Luckily, my hot chocolate (I am not a coffee person) was actually good (it had enough chocolate in it for once) and helped me wake up and get ready for an incredible day in Disneyland! Shortly afterwards, we continued our trek through Downtown Disney as we made our way to the gates of Disneyland, where we entered before anyone else!
We were the very first guests to walk through Disneyland’s turnstiles that day!
Upon entry, it appeared that I found a hidden Mickey! 🙂
Disneyland 60 decorations looked fantastic on the train station!
It’s amazing what a simple banner can do in terms of aesthetics!
Here’s another beautiful decoration at the train station!
As always, the decor of Main Street was beautiful, but the lighting of the sunrise gave it an even better glow.
Here’s Elias Disney’s window! 🙂
As we were walking down, there were a number of items that we were not allowed to take pictures of. Staff was cleaning, so I only took pictures of the buildings. Here’s the Crystal Arcade!
Eventually, I was able to get a shot of the castle!
I love the way the sun looks in this shot!
I wish every town in America looked as good as Main Street’s facades do.
Decorations for the Disneyland 60 celebration were lining several of the buildings on Main Street.
This shot almost looks like an illustration (it was edited to look that way).
Here’s a shot of the famous partners statue. If you look behind it you can see filming of what I believe was a RunDisney New Balance shoe commercial at the castle!
The members of the Adventures by Disney tour were the only people on Main Street! It was fun to see it so empty!
The California sun looked beautiful over the Plaza Inn!
The filming of the New Balance commercial halted for us to get pictures in front of the castle.
The decorations on the castle looked fantastic!
The decorations were detailed and beautiful, I love the look of this tower.
Again, simple banners go a long way!
Another castle shot!
Off to the right, you could see the first ever steel coaster!
The park was still closed as we got ready to walk over to breakfast.
Poor Peoplemover, I wish you were still operating!
As we explored the hub, a Disneyland ambassador came over and talked with the group for a minute.
Next, it was time for a character breakfast at the Plaza Inn! We were the first in the restaurant and had a Mickey Waffle buffet to start our day. As always, the waffles were delicious and we met several characters who I rarely see, such as Max and Rafiki. Eeyore was there too! 🙂
After breakfast, we walked over to Adventureland!
It was time for what was one of the most anticipated attractions for me to ride, Indiana Jones Adventure!
Indiana Jones Adventure was our first backstage experience for the day! We went into the machine room and got an incredible tour of the area. The highlight of the tour was when they allowed us to take a vehicle which was in storage at the time’s motions into control. We launched it up and down and jerked it from side to side! It was an awesome experience!
Afterwards, we rode the ride. It was INCREDIBLE! The theming was amazing, the ride was thrilling, and it was all out fun! I liked it SO much more than Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, which was not operating correctly when we rode and resulted in us getting stuck for 45 minutes and eventually evacuated from the ride. We unfortunately got stuck in the downhill moment seconds before the Dinosaur ended, and we were the last to be evacuated. It was uncomfortable and not fun. On the other hand, Indiana Jones took the ride system and put it on an incredibly higher level!
Shortly afterwards, we passed by the world famous Enchanted Tiki Room, but we were not going there yet.
Instead, our group walked its way down Main Street USA.
Crowds were beginning to rise as we walked back down Main Street.
Does anyone want some ice cream?
The Disneyland 60 banners looked great!
Does anyone know what’s up there, because it was our next destination!
While waiting to go up into Walt’s Apartment, I got some shots of some little details on Main Street. I love all of the tiny textures on the Main Street buildings!
Just look at the curves bordering the window!
So many little tiny elements combine to form a beautiful land!
Next, we entered the apartment. It was small and we could not take pictures in it. The inside had designs to the tastes of Lillian Disney.
A light always shines on the inside of this window in honor of Walt.
While the other half of the group toured Walt’s apartment, we toured Main Street!
Again, I love the Disneyland 60 banners!
DIAMONDS!!!!!!
“To all who come to this happy place: Welcome.”
he crowds were definitely high by the time we were on the tour.
As part of the tour, we went into one of the buildings (I believe it was Town Hall, but I’m not completely sure). Inside, there were a number of interesting Disney historical artifacts!
The coolest artifact was this early Disneyland model!
Fantasyland
Main Street, Adventureland, and part of Tomorrowland.
Tomorrowland
Frontierland
This window on Main Street is a tribute to the previous owners of the land Disneyland sits on.
So was the one above it (I think, it has been long enough that I am uncertain of this).
It was 10:23ish and I was getting ready to ride an attraction. As much as I love history, I like riding things much more!
After our Main Street tour, we made our way back to New Orleans Square!
New Orleans Square is just as detailed and beautiful as Main Street!
Ooh, the leaves are beautiful in this shot!
In New Orleans Square, we rode Pirates of the Caribbean again with half of the tour group while half of the group was touring the Disneyland Dream Suite above. I’m happy I got to ride Pirates again, it is an amazing experience at Disneyland and my camera ran out of batteries the original time. Shortly after riding, we walked into the exclusive suite!
The suite was elegant and beautiful. Every room had hidden surprises.
In particular, Walt had “goodnight kisses” installed to several of the rooms.
At the flip of a switch, the rooms are transformed into different environments!
The picture changed to include a mermaid.
The Dream Suite had a fantastic view! Soon, this view will completely change as the Rivers of America are changed forever!
It’s the Mark Twain!
There’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad!
Again, I was reminded how amazing Fantasmic is!
Below, we observed guests eating their meals.
By far the coolest room in the Dream Suite was the Wild West themed room. It was incredible to watch the room’s goodnight kiss, which featured a train and several western themed items zooming around the room on shelves above!
After a delicious lunch at the French Market Restaurant, we took the Disneyland Railroad around to It’s A Small World!
The facade on Small World is beautiful, it’s much nicer than the version at WDW.
Another shot of the beautiful art!
The only bad thing about Disneyland’s Small World is when you get stuck trying to get back into the station. The California sun is HOT!
This was one of the only times the Disneyland Railroad has been re-routed.
This small world exits into a gift shop.
Shortly after our independent Small World adventure, the group was set to meet again in Mickey’s Toontown!
This land is a very wacky, but cool land. It is one of Disneyland’s biggest differences from WDW.
The land was so cheesy it was fun.
For those who are wondering if we got the credit, no we did not.
What were we in ToonTown for? We were meeting Mickey Mouse himself!
After meeting Mickey Mouse, we were escorted backstage.
Backstage, photography was prohibited, so the following backstage photos are from Google Earth. We walked backstage and eventually, we arrived here. This is where Disneyland launches their fireworks! We were fortunate to meet with the man in charge of launching the fireworks (I forgot his name). Once every few months, the buildings surrounding the fireworks launch zone, which is pictured, or possibly other buildings such as Small World, catch on fire. This tells me that Star Wars Land, which will not be too far from here, will be catching on fire a lot. Okay, back to our normal talk! After chatting with us, we had the privilege of watching as they did the daily test of the fireworks system! It was a fun experience that very few get to do!
Here’s what ToonTown looks like from backstage (via Google Earth). I forget the exact number, but that wall cost Disney a lot to build!
After our backstage adventure, we decided it was time to do one of Disneyland’s FastPass free attractions (we had five passes valid for any attraction that accepted passes at any time). What is it? Well, it’s what was the first ever steel roller coaster, the Matterhorn!
I have to say, the Matterhorn might have better animatronics than Expedition Everest after its renovation. It was a fantastic experience!
The Matterhorn Bobsleds were a very fun attraction. I was going to do a mounted POV of the ride (it’s not against any Disneyland rule from what I saw when reading the rules on their site), but my GoPro didn’t actually charge the night before. Luckily, I happily used my regular camera!
After riding the Matterhorn, it was time for another Disneyland exclusive attraction, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride! Mr. Toad was a fun attraction. I had never been on it at WDW, so I really had no idea what to expect, but I did definitely enjoy it!
It’s definitely a unique ride compared to other theme park attractions.
Shortly after riding Mr. Toad, we hopped on Pinocchio because why not? Then we walked back around Big Thunder and into Adventureland. I love the look of this Big Thunder shot!
In Adventureland, I went in the Tiki Room for the first time ever! That may be an old attraction, but I loved it! I wonder where we went next?
It’s somewhere in Tomorrowland – The land with SEVERAL abandoned attractions in plain sight!
The answer, it was time to ruin WDW’s Space Mountain forever!
After riding, WOW! With an overall better ride, fantastic soundtrack, and more noticeable stars, the Disneyland Space Mountain was SO MUCH BETTER THAN at WDW! It was a great attraction!
Since it was getting late in the afternoon, we decided to go back to the hotel room for a short break. Later in the evening, we walked out to Downtown Disney feeling refreshed and ready for an evening in Disneyland! After grabbing some dinner at Downtown Disney’s Mexican Restaurant, which was delicious, we walked down to the park and rode Star Tours. As always, Star Tours was a fun simulator. Next, we made our way to the hub to get reserved seating for both Disneyland Forever and Paint the Night! Disneyland Forever was a fantastic fireworks show. The fireworks were spectacular and projections on the Castle and Matterhorn were cool. Paint the Night was alright, but I’ve realized I’m not much of a fan of the parades. It was enjoyable, but not as good as Disneyland Forever and Fantasmic. What probably didn’t help was the emphasis of Frozen on the parade. Finally, to end our night, we went back into Tomorrowland to ride a couple more rides. Since it had no line and one member of our party wanted to ride it, we rode the most claustrophobic attraction in any theme park, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. That ride was awful. I felt almost as sick as I did after Mission Space. If it were bigger and had better A/C, I would have liked the ride, but it just wasn’t good for me. To end my night at Disneyland, I used a FastPass to hop on what could have been my favorite attraction in the park, Space Mountain. It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful night! I ended up leaving the park after closing, which is something I had not done in the past! We went back to the room, I hopped into the bunk bed (I cringe thinking about how cramped it was), and got to sleep! After all, we were going to have a California Adventure the next day!
As if a major waterpark overhaul wasn’t enough for 2016, Carowinds will be installing a brand new experience in their old Action Theater, Plants Vs. Zombies: 3Z Arena. This new attraction will be a digital 3D game themed to the popular video game franchise of the same name. It will be an attraction for the entire family to enjoy.
The attraction will be the first ever intra-active experience to come to a park. Intra-active means that two groups will be battling each other on the same ride. One on the left side of the theater, and one on the right. Old and new characters from the franchise will join the guests in the battle.
In the attraction, guests will use blasters and motion based seats to make the attraction even more immersive. The experience will last approximately five minutes and will run ten times per hour. 600-700 guests will experience the attraction in an hour with 68 people in each showing.
The opening of the new ride will coincide with the launch of the newest Plants Vs. Zombies game, Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, which will debut in the Spring of 2016.
The ride will be one of Carowinds’s most immersive attractions when it launches next year. It is sticking to Cedar Fair’s recent push to create more themed attractions at their parks. I think it will be a fantastic addition to the Carowinds lineup. Carowinds’s Action Theater will be the second in the chain to be re-themed to an EA franchise, California’s Great America is theming theirs to the Mass Effect video games in 2016. I would love to see these bring new life to the chain’s other Action Theaters, which include locations at Kings Island, Kings Dominion, and Canada’s Wonderland. I think this can be expected for the other parks in the coming years.
Are you excited for Carowinds’s new immersive attraction? Let us know by commenting below and be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter! You can also find us on YouTube, Google+, and Tumblr!