bkroz Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Once in a while, I write for a website called Theme Park Tourist! I created this thread a few years ago partly for my own sake to list all of my writing in one place. Since then, the website has evolved and added a page for each author, so you can find pages and pages of my stuff on my author page if you're interested for some reason. Anyway, I'll update this periodically with my newest and favorite features. I think most of them are really interesting... but I'm biased. Let me know what you think, and if you like them, share them on your social media stuff and let me know! This series aims to collect and chronicle the in-depth stories behind lost attractions. The hope is that readers can share their own memories and stories about these lost wonders – both good and bad – to help keep the stories alive for future generations of theme park fans who simply can't understand what the big deal was about these classic rides they never had the chance to see. Image: Disney 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Why Disney Sank the Magic Kingdom Classic (click) Adventure! Unearthing the Secrets Buried in COSI's Valley of the Unknown (coming soon) Adventure Thru Inner Space: The Retro Disneyland Dark Ride that Inspired EPCOT Center (click) The Adventurer's Club: Legends of Downtown Disney's Living Theater Experience (click) Back to the Future – The Ride: How a Journey to the Past Created Universal Orlando's Future (click) Big Bad Wolf: The Swinging Suspended Coaster that Terrorized Busch Gardens (click) BODY WARS: The “Inside” Story of the Forgotten E-Ticket That Left Riders Queasy (click) Captain EO: The $17 Million Music Video That Changed Disney World Forever (click) Image: Disney Countdown to Extinction: The (Pre)historic Tale of Animal Kingdom's DINOSAUR (click) Country Bear Jamboree: The Rootin' Tootin' Tale of Disneyland's Lost Hoedown (click) Curse of DarKastle: Inside The Frozen Favorite That Melted Too Soon (click) ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter: The Terrifying True Story of Disney’s Scariest Attraction Ever (click) Geauga Lake: Why the World’s Largest Theme Park was Abandoned (click) Image: Disney The Great Movie Ride: Inside the Final Curtain Call for the Disney-MGM Studios (click) Horizons: A Look Back at EPCOT Center’s Lost View of the Future (click) If You Had Wings: The Magic Kingdom Classic that Gave a Generation Wings (click) JAWS: The Lost Universal Legend that Scared a Generation Out of the Water (click) Journey into Imagination: The Tragic Tale of Disney’s Lost Masterpiece (click) Image: Disney Kitchen Kabaret: The Nutrition Facts on EPCOT Center’s Animatronic “Dinner Show” (click) KONGFRONTATION: The Complete Story of Universal’s Legendary Lost King (click) Lost Continent: How Disney Accidentally Designed and Destroyed Universal’s Lost Land (click) Maelstrom: The Stormy Tale of Epcot’s Lost Norwegian Adventure (click) Mickey's Toontown Fair: Inside the Circus Cut from Magic Kingdom (click) Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride: Disney Fans Fought to Save This Whacky Ride… And Lost (click) Image: Disney The Peoplemover and the Fall of Walt's Tomorrowland (click) Snow White’s Scary Adventures: The Spooky Story of the Missing Magic Kingdom Classic (click) Soarin’ Over California: How California Adventure’s One Soarin’ Success Spread Around the World (click) Son of Beast: The Fall of the Tallest, Fastest, Only Looping Wooden Coaster on Earth (click) Space Mountain – De la Terre à la Lune: Launching Disneyland Paris’ Steampunk Peak (click) Image: Disney / Lucasfilm STAR TOURS: The Stellar Story Behind the Ride That Changed Disney Parks Forever (click) T2 3-D: Behind the Screens of Universal’s Larger-Than-Life Lost Legend (click) History in Motion, Part II: How the Original TEST TRACK Changed Epcot Forever (click) The Timekeeper: How Disney Turned Walt's 1950s Tech into an International "Sci-Fi Double Feature" (click) TOMB RAIDER: The Ride – How One of America’s Best Themed Rides Was Buried (click) Image: Disney The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror: Why Disney Created (and Condemned) California’s Toppled Tower (click) Universe of Energy: Behind the Extinction of the Last EPCOT Center Classic (click) History in Motion, Part I: Epcot’s Legendary Lost Classic World of Motion (click) In this brand new series, we dissect the true tales of some of the most astounding rides at theme parks around the globe; living legends that exemplify the brilliance, storytelling, and technology of leading parks. We’ll look behind-the-ride to get the full, unabridged story of these modern wonders and examine how their success is all in the details. Image: Universal / Marvel The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man: The Inside Scoop (click) Country Bear Jamboree: From Mineral King to the Magic Kingdom (click) DINOSAUR: Behind the Prehistoric Pandemonium (click) Expedition Everest: Inside Disney’s Most Legendary Peak (click) Frozen Ever After: Epcot's World (Showcase) Changing Dark Ride (click) Image: Disney Indiana Jones Adventure: Behind the Legend of the Forbidden Eye (click) Journey to the Center of the Earth: Unearthing Disney’s Best Dark Ride Ever (click) Mystic Manor: A Monkey, a Music Box, and an Imagineering Masterpiece (click) Image: Disney Phantom Manor: Paris’ One-of-a-Kind Haunted Mansion (click) Radiator Springs Racers: The Mile-a-Minute E-Ticket that Saved California Adventure (coming soon) Revenge of the Mummy: Universal’s Mummified Marvel (click) Tower of Terror: Tokyo's One-of-a-Kind Thriller (click) TRON Lightcycle Power Run: Inside The Grid (click) Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress: From the World's Fair to Walt Disney World (click) Forget legends. This series is a growing collection of missteps, flops, failures, and "disasters." Embarrassing overlays, broken technologies, and tone-deaf "upgrades" that led to some seriously regrettable rides, attractions, and even parks. We'll explore the before-during-and-after of these unusual and unfortunate stories, see where they went wrong and what can make them right. Image: Disney Backstage Studio Tour: How The Ride Meant to Headline the Disney-MGM Studios Killed It Instead (click) Disaster Transport: The Disney Knockoff Coaster That Changed Cedar Point Forever (click) Disney’s California Adventure: How Disneyland’s Second Park Crashed, Burned, and was Reborn (click) Image: Disney DisneyQuest: How Disney’s Plans to Bring Its Theme Parks Closer To YOU Crashed and Burned (click) Drachen Fire: The Short Life of Busch Gardens’ Nightmare Franken-Coaster (click) Enchanted Tiki Room: “New Management” Almost Closed This Walt Original (click) Europe in the Air: Grounding Busch Gardens' Soarin' Simulator (coming soon) Hard Rock Park: The Ambitious Music Park That Went Bankrupt in 150 Days (click) Image: Disney Journey into YOUR Imagination: The Unimaginable Story Behind the Ride Epcot Fans Hated (click) Journey to Atlantis: How SeaWorld’s Attempt at Disney Dark Ride Storytelling Sank (click) Rocket Rods and Tomorrowland 1998: Why Disney’s Most Disastrous Ride Ever Literally Didn’t Work (click) Image: Disney Stitch’s Great Escape! The Tragic Tale of Disney’s “Worst Attraction Ever” (click) Superstar Limo: The Disastrous Disney Ride That Lasted Only One Year (click) Walt Disney Studios: How Disney’s Parisian Movie Park Became a Box Office Bomb (click) This series explores never-built attractions, lands, and theme parks and examines the parks we know and love if things had been done differently. Possibilityland is growing as we explore the in-depth stories behind these never-built attractions that could've changed everything if they'd ended up coming to life. Image: Disney Beastly Kingdom: The Imagined Land Animal Kingdom Almost Had (click) Discovery Bay: The Inventive Tale of Disneyland’s Lost Land (click) Epcot’s Project – GEMINI: Disney’s Secret Plans to Transform Epcot (click) Muppet Studios: Disney’s Inspirational, Celebrational, Muppetational Never-Built Land (click) Image: Disney Never-Built "Mountains": Disney's Most Perilous Peaks (click) Possibilityland: A Walk Through the Disneyland That Never Was (click) Tomorrowland 2055: The Future Disneyland Almost Had (And the Failure It Got Instead) (click) Western River Expedition: The Would-Be E-Ticket That Could’ve Changed Magic Kingdom (click) Image: Disney Fun Features Universal Rises: The Changing Tide in Orlando (one, two, three) Tokyo Disney Resort Walkthrough Photo Report (one, two, three, four) The Tomorrowland Saga ––– Part One: Back to the Future - A History of Tomorrowland (link) ––– Part Two: What's Happening with Star Wars at Disney Parks? (link) ––– Part Three: Tomorrowlands of the Past, Present, and Future (link) Behind the Ride ––– Verbolten: Brave the Black Forest (link) ––– Indiana Jones Adventure: Temple of the Forbidden Eye (link) COOL! The Wonders of the Theme Park World ––– The Seven "Natural" Wonders (link) ––– The Seven "Ancient" Wonders (link) ––– The Seven "Modern" Wonders (link) Ideal Build-Out Parks ––– Disney Hollywoodland Park (link) In-Depth: Shanghai Disneyland's New Lands, New Classics, and New Rides (link) The Ride Count Countdown: How Disney & Universal’s Parks Stack Up (click) Cancellations, Closures, and Cop-Outs: 25 Years Ago, These Disney Parks Projects were Canned (link) Random Listicles 9 Forgotten Disney Parks Icons (link) 8 Disney Castles of Every Size and Shape (link) COOL! 7 Classic Disney Attractions That Look MUCH Different Overseas (link) 7 Strangest Theme Park Rides Based on Movies (link) (Kings Island!) 5 Asian Parks That Copycat Disney (link) 11 Infamously Failed and Flubbed Theme Park Attractions (link) (Kings Island!) COOL! 10 Disney Attractions Connected by the Secret Society S.E.A. (link) 11 Awe-Inspiring Theme Park Icons (link) 8 Never-Built Lands at Disney Parks (link) Less Is More: 6 Roller Coasters that DON'T Break Records (link) COOL! 7 New Lands for Disney's Animal Kingdom that Make More Sense than Avatar (link) 6 Reasons Why FastPass+ Won't Work at Disneyland Without BIG Tweaks (link) Disney's Most Elaborate and Immersive Meet-and-Greets (link) COOL! COSI – Why Every Disney Fan Should Visit America's OTHER Epcot (link) 10 "How'd They Do That" Special Effects That STILL Amaze Us (link) 10 BEST (link) and 6 WORST (link) Times Disney "Plussed" Classic Attractions COOL! Adventure In the Valley of the Unknown (link) New Hopes and Fears: How STAR WARS Changes Everything at Disney Parks (link) 8 Classic Disney Attractions Plussed by Projection Technology (link) COOL! The 25 Most Incredible Theme Park Animatronics On Earth (link) 12 Incredible, Immersive Dark Rides You CAN'T Ride at Disney or Universal (link) 6 Disney Clone Pairs You Might Not Recognize (link) NEW! 10 Disney Rides with "Spiritual Sequels" Around the Globe (link) NEW! = Recently-published features, newly added to this list COOL! = Obviously they're all cool, but these are my personal favorites! Great choices for a fun read! Kings Island! (at the end, after the link) = A Kings Island attraction is featured 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I only have time to look through a few right now but what I've seen has been impressive. I've always found factoids about Disney fascinating. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 Thanks! Lots of cool stories worth sharing! I'm glad to have the chance to. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted July 30, 2014 Author Share Posted July 30, 2014 Updated with six new articles for your Wednesday reading pleasure. I also went through and marked some of them as COOL! In fact, it's one of those things where the word "cool" now doesn't look like a word to me because I typed it so many times. If you're going to read any, those ones are my favorites. The ones marked (Kings Island!) after the link feature a ride from Kings Island. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegajone Posted February 17, 2016 Share Posted February 17, 2016 I just want to say thanks for writing and sharing all of these pieces. I literally spent about 8 hours yesterday reading through a lot of them! I just want to remind you that your work does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. Keep up the great work! Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark6495 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Love the writing and feel it should get a bump back to the front pge Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RollerColt Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 These articles have been incredible to read. The past few weeks I have been struck by a very strong case of illness. The silver lining was I had more time to read your stuff bkroz. So thanks for helping me get through my tough times by clearing my mind! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkroz Posted November 6, 2016 Author Share Posted November 6, 2016 It's been about two years since I bumped this, and a lot has changed! Lots of new folks here and lots of new stories linked to in the first post above! A little plug for myself here, but it's a nice cool Sunday night and a perfect time to pick an in-depth history or two and read about some "Lost Legends" you may remember (Son of Beast, TOMB RAIDER, Disaster Transport, and tons of Disney rides that may have influenced you as a kid); be amazed by some disastrous "Disaster Files" of flubbed-and-failed rides; or just check out a countdown of the best Audio Animatronics on Earth! Also a good place to get your COSI primer or your Adventure basics for those joining us later this month... If you read any, share them and let me know about it! And by the way, you can always access this page via the link in my signature, so revisit it often to see what's added! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TombRaiderFTW Posted November 6, 2016 Share Posted November 6, 2016 Thanks for the update. I always enjoy reading your articles! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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