RailRider

New Attractions and Rides are a mere band aid for the root problem that Kings Island and other CF parks face. Poor Customer Service, low quality dining and lacking entertainment continue to be major issues that are neglected every year. Especially at Kings Island.

Disney knocked it out of the park at D23 with all of the new park additions coming over the next 5 years. EPCOT was the least talked about but is a huge winner with the revitalization it is receiving and making it more family friendly.

More screen based rides coming. This will be an upgraded version of Gringotts. While fun it is no longer unique and is a tired concept at Universal. Sorry Im a bit jaded towards Universal. Was down there last Summer and so much of the attention has been focused on Harry Potter the rest of the parks have suffered. Especially IoA outside of Harry Potter. The park just felt tired and worn out for a big Orlando park. The only other new addition the park has seen since opening was Kong and it was randomly shoehorned in to Jurassic Park. Look at their last few rides and upcoming ride (Fast and Furious) All screen based or screens play a major role. It becomes very tiring after a few days and rides like Dragon Challenge were a much needed break from all of the screens.

Development plans aside, this area is too stinking hot to draw huge summer tourist crowds. Families travel in the Summer and Summer temperatures in Casa Grande average well over 100 degrees starting at the end of May through September. Mmmm yes I would like to take my family vacation to the Desert in August when its 108 degrees and go walk around a theme park. There is a reason this market remains untapped and underdeveloped when it comes to large Amusement/Theme Parks - it is too stinking hot during prime Summer travel months.

Yes I have heard about the issue with the toilet bowl slide and it being a water flow issue. Seems like that would be an easy fix, but you never know. We are doing the Easter route this May and I cannot wait to go back to Puerto Rico. One of my favorite ports.

I know Right? I think we are holding off till Fall of 2019 so that Star Wars, Toy Story and Avatar are all open. But next year is tempting with Avatar opening.

We have sailed on many of Royals ships and prior to sailing on the Oasis (which we have been on twice) Freedom was always our favorites. We never needed slides, but now with Harmony receiving them as well as them dry-docking the Freedom class with them, Royal has given us just one more reason not to leave. We always book dining and shows well in advance, because we hate waiting. Can't wait to experience Harmony this May, plus we get to go back to Puerto Rico.

The almost Annual Traditional of our Family Trip to Disney World happened this past September. Once again it was myself, both daughters (9,2) and my wife. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside, visited every park and attended MNSSHP at the Magic Kingdom. As always we had a magical time at Disney and it always seems to be something different that we experience that makes it so much fun. Originally we planned on going to Animal Kingdom 2 days and not visiting Disney Studios, but with Rivers of Light being delayed we decided to spend our last day at Disney Studios and had so much fun with all of the new Star Wars interactions and night time show. This park is going to be insane once Toy Story and Star Wars open MNSSHP was a huge amount of fun and it may be a better after hours party than Mickey's Christmas party. Crowds were light since it was early in September and we scored the coveted Family photo with the 7 Dwarfs at the start of the party. Also the viewing we had for HalloWishes was spectacular. We sat in the expanded hub area on the green astro turf. We were able to sit down for the entire show and were never once crowded, really nice not having kids on shoulders blocking your view. Rather than post a bunch of photos I am posting the video I made from the trip. I think its a neat way to relive the memories. Everything was shot on my GoPro. Enjoy and let me know your thoughts. Our next trip will probably not be till Fall of 2019 once Start Wars is open.

As many of you know I am an avid Disney fan, yet we always cruise with Royal. I find it really hard to pay twice the money for a Disney Cruise when we have always had an amazing time. Our last cruise my youngest wasn't even 2 and she had an amazing time. We cruised on Oasis of the Seas which is awesome for the whole family and in May we will be on Harmony of the Seas. Here is a video of our cruise from last year. Save the money and put it towards a trip to Disney World.

I was of the same belief that there was not enough to do at DHS during our past trip that we didn't plan on visiting this past October. But as our trip was coming to an end we decided to go to DHS instead of a 2nd day at Animal Kingdom. We were quite surprised at how much fun we had with all of the new Star Wars shows and New Character Interactions. Ended up being one of our favorite days at Disney. Disney has done a good job at adding these new experiences while the rest of the park is under construction, DHS never had that many attractions to begin with. Honestly it was half a park when it opened. Very Exciting years ahead for Disney 2017 - AK - Pandora - which looks amazing 2018 - Toy Story Land 2019 - Star Wars Land Also during this time is the Refurb of Caribbean Beach with addition of Vacation Club Rumored Aerial Transport between EPCOT, Caribbean Beach, Pop Century, Art of Animation and the Studios

Agreed the meal plan is a much better option for us. Honestly we like the Deluxe Dining Plan because we combined table service credits and will eat around 5-6 Signature Restaurants during our trip. We come out ahead in the end when you figure each Signature bill costs between $200 - $300 for a family of 4. Not to mention we will hit 3-4 character meals which are easily $150 each. There is a big difference between Disney Quick Service/Counter Service and Table Service. Folks that pay out of pocket are less likely to hit Table Service locations because of the cost, yet quality is so much better. That is why the DDP is the way for us.

Just a few additional tips. Use the rider swap program at the bigger rides like Space Mountain, 7 Dwarfs and Big Thunder since you have a young child. This will give your older children multiple rides as the other parent returns to the FP+ line. If memory serves the returning parent is allowed to bring 2 guests with them for the Rider Swap Return. Also I would recommend using FP+ on PeterPan, 7 Dwarfs and SpaceMountain. Highly Recommend looking at easywdw.com for great in park touring cheat sheets and FP+ booking. Lastly on EMH evening days I would consider a Rope Drop morning with plans to leave the park by mid afternoon, because crowds will continue to build as the later extra hours approach. We have always avoided EMH days at parks. You might consider Animal Kingdom as a great park to visit instead of MK, especially with Pandora opening May 27th Most Importantly Have Fun

I was one that took advantage of the Legacy Fast Pass system. One of the big secrets with the old system is there were rides not connected to the system so you could double up, plus you could ride standby all morning while continuously collecting paper tickets when your window opened again. Even though these tickets had printed return times, you could return at any point throughout the day. Basically the morning was used for standby rides and then you would use all of your paper tickets in the afternoon for much more popular rides. The new Magic Band system is awesome! Have used it multiple times and it is fantastic. I love going in to my Disney trip and already having multiple ride reservations. For example our last trip we went having 2 FP+ for the new Frozen Ride, when standby lines were around 2 hours. This new system sounds interesting and I hope it works, but the powered part is interesting. This sounds more like the Q-bot system to me. Also I doubt the device will have much of a screen to help navigate the system, rides, and such. Will you need to use their app on your phone to see whats going on in the park then make separate changes on your band? Where the Magic Band system integrates the two. Shall be interesting to see.

Such a tragic accident that seems like it could have been prevented. Watched a few POV's of this ride and I don't see any proximity sensors on the lift, but there does appear to be a ride attendant platform at the top of the lift with what Im guess is an E-stop panel. Yet in all the videos I watched there was never a ride attendant stationed there. Should be very interesting to see what the investigation finds.

I see validity in all the points raised in this discussion and there is one thing that hasn't been discussed to great length is how Disney is using pricing to limit crowds. Yes you read that correct, Disney can only handle so many people in the parks on a daily basis and crowds have exploded for the parks the last 5+ years. Heading in to this season Disney raised prices all around, plus they limited the discounts they offered. One example being Free Dining, it was still offered this year but it required either a park hopper ticket or an upgraded room from standard level. This is just one example of how Disney has worked to limit, even scale back attendance growth. Look at any Disney blog site that is frequently in the parks and they are all commenting that even days it should be packed the crowds haven't been as heavy as they were in years past. Something else to discuss is Disney is a huge expansion/transition phase right now and once they new lands open, Pandora, Star Wars and Toy Story, the effected parks will become more than just half day parks. They will become whole day if not 2 day parks, allowing Disney to spread their guests over more of the property instead of guests flocking back to Magic Kingdom or Epcot once they realize they are done with the other parks. Once these new areas go live Disney will begin reworking Epcot to increase its appeal with added attractions like Guardians of the Galaxy and character centered rides in the World Showcase, like Ratatoui (These are the rumors and they make sense). Also at some point Tomorrowland will be getting a fresh update with a Tron Light Cycle coaster and other attractions, this has already begun with paint work and the limiting of Stitch, which is a horrible ride. This expansion phase isn't new, but it is more evident right now. New Fantasyland was first, followed by the Magic Band system, which is amazing, and then the retiming of Downtown Disney to Disney Springs, which is very nicely done. Lastly I was one who didn't want to go to the Studios at all this trip because of all of the construction, but as our week progressed we realized there was no need to go back to the other 3 parks so we visited the Studios our last day. The new Star Wars offerings at the park are great and the nighttime Star Wars Spectacular was insane. Plus the new character meet n greets are fantastic, Olaf is in a league of his own, as are the shows they continue to run at the park. With the changes coming to this park it will easily be a 2 day park and potentially a 3 day park when you consider there is close to 20 acres of expansion coming.

The PBS series The American Experience did an episode on Walt Disney, it is highly worth 3 hours of your time to watch this series. Great insight in to Walt's life and the reason he did the things he did.

So you haven't ridden Frozen Ever After yet? The story of the ride is pretty simple but very effective. Its a Snow Day in Summer and Queen Elsa has opened the Ice Castle up for her guests. Thats the story and its well accomplished. Biggest grossing Animated movie of all time, it will be relevant for years to come. Especially with planned additions to the franchise. So what about movies based on rides?

Malestrom was never that good of a dark ride and it was never considered a classic Disney Dark Ride. Anyone that argues otherwise is remembering it with rose colored glasses.

^ Which is my favorite attraction at Disney, but the Animatronics and experience of Frozen Ever After are amazing. The Olaf animatronic is just awesome as are the sisters. The digital face technology is quite amazing and puts it on a whole new level. Truly feels like you are inside the animated world of Frozen.

As Shark said earlier I cannot agree with much that has been said in this discussion. Have many of you been to Disney World lately? The quick cash grab attractions many have mentioned, like Frozen Ever After at EPCOT are some of the best Disney has. Sorry fans of classic Disney rides Maelstrom was not a classic Disney ride, it was a ride filled with technical issues that hardly anyone waisted time riding. Frozen Ever After is not some quick cash grab attraction, it is possibly the best Disney Dark Ride ever. I am confident in saying this after 4 rides on it during our trip earlier this month. Also Avatar is not Disney's answer to Harry Potter land, that would be Star Wars. Avatar is the addition that will make Animal Kingdom more than a half day park, but potentially a 2 day park. I am not an Avatar fan, but having seen this land in person it is going to be breathtaking. Think of this as a futuristic Beastly Kingdom that never happened. I also strongly disagree with the assertion that Disney is chasing Universal. I was at Universal this past June and Disney in September. Outside of Harry Potter the Universal Parks are in bad shape for being one of the biggest players in the game. Outside of Harry Potter, many of the attractions are showing their age and the lack of upkeep is sad. For example Jurassic Park River Adventure featured numerous broken dinosaurs and had a few that had been removed, this was after if had just reopened from refurbishment. The ride was in a very sad state and I continually thought of Dr. Malcom asking "there will eventually be dinosaurs, right?" Also the amount of fuzzy screens in both parks and glitchy motion bases clearly showed how the focus of Universal has been Harry Potter and not much else. Regarding Tower of Terror becoming Guardians of the Galaxy. I would argue that after the retheme of DCA, Tower of Terror didn't fit that well. Plus with it being the gateway to the new Marvel land it makes sense. The outrage would be real if this was happening at Hollywood Studios, but its not. That is why a Guardians ride is going in to the Future World section of EPCOT and if rumors are correct a Ratatoui dark ride in France. While some argue that these additions are awfull I have never heard anyone complain about Donald's Grand Fiesta tour in Mexico, which just received 3 animatronic characters that were an awesome addition to the ride. Disney is taking a very calculated approach towards honoring classic properties ( 7 Dwarfs Mine Train) while integrating new properties (Frozen Ever After). Honestly in 5-7 years this will be a long forgotten discussion once the new areas open and classic properties continue to receive the attention and care they deserve.

GCI footers are connected to one another underground. This is one of the main reasons their structures are so sound and offer such a smooth ride year after year. Here is a great look at Mystic Timbers Construction that GCI linked to. http://newsplusnotes.blogspot.com/2016/09/scott-and-carol-present-look-at-mystic.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Love the foresight in needing some additional help with the forums, especially with the growth the site has seen lately. There have been some great nominations and volunteers so far. Allow me to add one more, myself. I would be more than honored to help guide KIC and its forums, one of the most knowledgeable and friendly communities around. I have been a member of KIC, PKIC and other prior versions for over 11 years. I have been a long standing member who has stayed in good standing, provided lots of content, and participated in numerous events and forum games (KIC Survivor etc.) I also really enjoy the color red. I remember the days when the forums were much smaller and more closely knit, but the growth has been amazing and I think with some additional focus the community can become like family again. So happy to see so many volunteers willing to step up and make KIC the best it can be.

The piece of property is no longer a desirable location and especially with the history of failed hotel after failed hotel I cannot fathom a new owner trying to make a go of a new lodging offering there. Plus the cost to refurbish the current lodging property and to try and rid it of infestation (both roach and bed bug) would be astronomical and near impossible. Time for a controlled burn and build a warehouse.

the Field of Screams artwork and theme is making more sense now.

Great article and the one take away was this is why a park like Action Park existed in New Jersey and why Verruckt was built at the Kansas Schlitterbahn. I am typically one who advocates for less government involvement but the fact Kansas only audits to confirm ride inspections and that they leave actual inspections up to the parks is concerning. Seems like a conflict of interest when the ride inspector is hired and paid by the park. Good for businesses but provides little protection for the consumer and especially tax payers of the state.