RailRider

Top Gun errr Flight Deck will eventually be torn down, see Big Bad Wolf. Anytime soon? I doubt it, unless they want to shut the Action Zone down and let the animals return. Also while we are covering rumors Vortex is not sinking, but SoB remains SBNO.

^ Actually from the article those affected that were there that day are claiming discrimination and not a safety issue. That to me is the issue.

Peter Taraglia, deputy commissioner of Westchester County Parks, said the Muslim American Society of New York was warned in advance of the rule barring head scarves on rides for safety reasons. "Part of our rules and regulations, which we painstakingly told them over and over again, is that certain rides you cannot wear any sort of headgear," Tartaglia said. "It's a safety issue for us on rides, it could become a projectile." I find this quote interesting. Was this a lack of communication from the Muslim American Society to their atendees? Very interesting story and a shame that Rye Beach was caught in the middle. The rules are the rules. Should be interesting what the dashboard cams show as well as security footage. Very one sided story currently. Also read the comments bellow the article...

Avatar, thanks for sharing your thoughts on this. I love the pictures of Miss Rae, glad you shared them with us. My wife and I were talking this weekend that the young one is growing up so quick we need to get back to Disney sooner than later, because we know it will be different at some point. Thanks for sharing.

Its an eagle egg.

Friday May 6th Bipiti Bopiti After a very successful morning meet and greet with Tangled and Flynn Rider and a few rerides in Fantasyland we had an appointment at the Bipiti Bopiti Botique. For those of you that do not know about the Bipiti Bopiti Botique, it is Disney's version of dress up located inside Cinderella's Castle. Princesses can go in get the hair styled, makeup and nails done and can even pick out their favorites princess dress to wear. Basically its transforming your princess in to a real princess with her own Fairy Godmother in Training. There are various packages to choose from and I will leave that discussion to other forums, but feel free to ask any questions. The BBB was my wifes idea and thought that the little one would love it seeing as she is obsessed with dress up and the Disney princesses. Honestly I must say it was a really neat experience and Zoe loved picking out her dress, hairstyle, makeup and just the entire process. From start to finish we spent a solid 2 hours at the BBB and took way too many pictures and video of it, but Zoe left feeling extremely special and her actions the rest of the day would prove how special she felt. Honestly this experience makes her feel on top of the world, other guests made sure to make nice comments towards her as well as the various cast members. This was her day and she knew it as the day went on. Zoe Meets her Fairy Godmother in training who was amazing. Who would have guessed she picked Rapunzels dress? Did I mention she had the options of extensions in her hair? She chose pink of course. Since the Tangled movie is so new and popular, not all accesories were availabe, so lets mix in 2nd favorite Princess. Did anyone guess Sleeping Beauty? Recall her Sleeping Beauty experience from Disneyland. Makeup Love the face shield and now comes the ungodly amount of gliter. Im still finding gliter to this day. Getting ready to turn her around to see the finished product. During the entire process the princess in the making has not seen themselves. Somebody is happy with the result Finished product, somebody feels very royal and will act as such the rest of the day. Here are some of the PhotoPass shots from the process and from the photo shoot afterward. Love the face shield, I need one of these. Every princess needs a photoshoot. Off with their head! that was my first thought when I saw this pose. Daisy and prncess Zoe as we leave the park to head to Disney Studios Im curious, anyone else that has done this with their child. Did it change their personality for the rest of the day? Zoe was so reserve and proud the rest of the day. I believe she truly felt like royalty the rest of the day. Everyone greeting her as princess and making a special point to have conversations with her. She felt very important, not stuck up or snobish, but important. Really a neat thing to see as a parent and Zoe absolutely loved the idea of standing out in the parks like she did.

^ Congrats on taking the inititave to train for a 5k and 5mile, both tough. I found that once I could handle 5 miles drawing my training out to 10, 11, 12 and the 13 was not much more dificult. Good luck and we definately want to try the Disney half as well.

No we did not. When planning our trip to Disney I wanted us to have a relaxing time while accomplishing a lot. I have found that some folks try and do everything at Disney in a set few days, I planned our trip to hit the major attractions, the things we were interested in and if we didn't see or experience a few things thats ok. We will be back and we can do it next time. This may be one of them.

Because of the tips and advice of others and the planning I put in to each day, we ride more and see more by lunch time than most park guests will do all day. I have done Disney with no plan and just wondered aimlessly around the parks. I have done Disney with a plan and a layout for touring the parks. I will never go to Disney again without a plan. I highly recomend sites like TourGuideMike and Undercover Tourist. Let me know if you have any questions.

^ at least it doesn't involve turns that fly...

Wonder how long that will last once senior Mr. K is no longer in his current role?

CRT is served plated not family style for the most part. Although they serve a family style fruit plate and pastry plate before they bring out everyone's main plate. Regarding the food pictures we only took a few and they were of desserts no main courses. I would like to see the lobster and filet again also.

Well Holiday Horror was a fear zone when they had it. Poorly done and poorly executed fear zone at that. It was mainly some WinterFest props strewn about with a drunk santa and some not so nice elves.

Friday, May 6th Zoe Meets her Fairy Godmother in Training... As I mentioned in the last post today is the day I was most anticipating on our trip. Why you ask? Because the events we had scheduled were some of the things Zoe was looking forward to the most. One thing she continually talked about was getting to meet Tangled. For those without a little princess at home Tangled is the new Disney animated film staring Rapunzel. Unfortunately meeting Rapunzel at The World is reserved for one location and that is at the Magic Kingdom. Numerous reports I read about this meet and greet made it apparent that we needed to be in line at rope drop. More on that later... Also for the day we had an appointment at the Bipiti Bopiti Botique inside Cinderella's Castle and to cap the day off a Fantasmic Dinning Package at the Brown Derby before wrapping up the evening with Fantasmic. Since today was a very busy day I will break it up over a couple updates. Meeting Tangled, where do I start. When we told Zoe we were going to Disney her first question was can I meet Tangled? Absolutely! But as I researched and discovered that she would have to be a rope drop priority because of the limited meetings and showings. Nor did I want to wait in a 4 hour line to meet one character. So my goal this morning was to at the park prior to opening and then at rope drop make a bee line for Rapunzel, while the wife and kido take a relaxing stroll down mainstreet. Turns out I wasn't the only father with this idea as it was me and 6 other dads on a mission at rope drop. As we made our way to Tangled we joked about the things we do for our kids and how our daughters have us wrapped around their little finger. Ended up being 4th in line once we got the entrance of the meet n greet. Oh the excitement. 2nd time on vacation I've been in a race. Thankfully I ended up in the right spot. Looks very much like the movie... While waiting the kids get to color. Tangled has made her apperance. Waiting very patiently. Its really them and Zoe becomes bashfull. She is not bashfull, but meeting Tangled will do that. Deep in conversation with Flynn Rider (I must say he is a very good Flynn Rider) Since I am breaking this day up in to multiple updates, I will include the PhotoPass shots now. Notice, Zoe had to have a Golden Flower in her hair since she was meeting Tangled. Best Hug Ever! Hey I ran to get in line, I want my picture with Tangled also. Ive got my eyes on you Flynn! Morning meet and greet with Rapunzel, huge success and we got to spend a solid 10-15 minutes interacting with the characters. Very cool indeed. Here in just a few hours we have an appointment at the Bipiti Bopiti Botique. Can anyone guess which princess or princesses Zoe will chose to dress up as? The answer lies within a few of my trip reports. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are enjoying so far!

It is always interesting to hear how people got stated loving coasters and/or amusement parks. The ride that got me started loving coasters was the Wabash Cannonball at Opryland USA. This was the first big coaster I was tall enough to go on and after watching my dad ride it for years I very badly wanted to ride it. Then a year after that Chaos opened at Opryland and I was hooked on coasters. (and folks wonder why I am so bitter towards Gaylord Entertainment).

Some of the great Disney Photopass shots from the day. I imagine a lot of kids are scared of Stitch. Favorites still. Buzz and Woody Whose watching Zoe while we get our pictures taken? Somebody is not happy she isn't in the picture Ahh this is much better. The end of another great day. I could really get used to being at Disney every day. Tomorrow is the day that I am most excited about. Since I booked the trip and planned our days this is the day I circled because of the excitement, Magic, and the experiences we had lined up. I may have been looking forward to this day more than the rest of the family. Look forward to sharing it with you. Thanks for stopping by and sharing in the magic, stay tunned... Zoe meets her Fairy Godmother in Training...

Narcosees at the Grand Floridian may have been our favorite of all the Signature Resturant we dinned at. The location is amazing as it sits right on the shore of the Seven Seas lagoon overlooking the Kingdom and the Contemporary Resort. The food is simple, Seafood and Steak, yet extremely well done. The Lobster and Fillet I had were amazing and they serve a nice mojito as well. The patio overlooking the lagoon. The Kingdom and a certain Mountain in the background. Where we started our morning. Avatar these next 2 pictures are for you. Did I mention the food was amazing? Giant Nemo cupcake with amazingly detailed carmel nemo drawn on the plate. And the cupcake wasn't half bad either. Photopass shots coming up next

On to Disney Studios and like I said this will mainly be a character update. i will save my thoughts on the park for a later update. Two of Zoe's favorites from Disneyland. Postcard? Ran in to this guy by Toy Story Midway Mania. Some of my favorite Disney Costumed Characters. Hmmm who could we be getting ready to see? Zoe does not like it when I call her Stinky Pete Buzz and Woody! After some great rides and many great character moments its time to head back to the Coronado Springs to relax before heading out to dinner at the Narcosees located at the Grand Floridian Resort.

There is a Mouse in the Kitchen... Thursday, May 5th Up bright and early today, because somebody said there was a mouse in the kitchen! Actually we started this day off with an early morning breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends and the Contemporary Resort. After breakfast we were going to venture to Disney Studios to experience some great rides, characters and the extremely popular Toy Story Midway Mania! We had planned to stay in the park till early afternoon, head back to Coronado Springs, relax and then head to the Grand Floridian Resort for dinner at Narcosees. Bright and early we pulled in to the Contemporary Resort to dine with a certain mouse. The Chef Mickey Character breakfast is quite good. Very nice breakfast buffet setup with anything you could want. Great way to start the day and once again Disney makes sure to take care of the parents. The most valued signature at The World! Thanks Mickey Chef Goofy! Everyones favorite Duck! We almost had a crisis with Donald because he went back in the kitchen to make a few omlets before coming back to our table. Excited over a new signature in the book! Whos Next? Pluto Last but not least. We love Minnie One fabulous breakfast down, some quality character time, now on to the Disney Studios and probably the most popular ride at the World right now. I will include more photos of the studios from our second day there. Since we started with characters this morning, this will be the character update.

I hadn't seen this done yet and find it very interesting. I think the layouts speak for themselves and really show the difference. Compare Behemoth's Layout Vs that of Leviathan

This is a slippery slope that I don't want to even venture down, but it is clear that efforts paid off by groups like nami and that Cedar Point listened. Maybe even received some education in the matter. Unfortunately the news media will take this action as a group protesting the name of said attraction, which is not the case. There is a difference between stupid and ignorant. Cedar Point was ignorant in their choice of names, hopefully they are no longer in this matter.

The name Leviathan has been thrown around for a few years now as a new coaster name. Great name as well for a monsterous coaster. The color scheme of the track on site would definately fit with the Leviathan theme.

Look at this as a business decision. If you buy the FastLane a user is more likely to focus on riding rides multiple times and spending less time waiting, visting shops, food stands and playing games. There would be need of this customer to get their moneys worth out of the FastLane, but what if there was a FastPass style system, (free or upcharge). Customers would have reserved return times which would allow them to visit the park more casually, play a game while they wait, browse a gift shop, or even purchase some overpriced food. FUN continually states that they want to increseas in park spending per guest to improve the bottom line. You tell me which system "could" help accomplish that?

I have been waiting to weigh in on this topic just to watch the back and forth. Not a huge fan of the idea because of the cost per ticket and there is not control of where and when guests will use this program. Everyone using Fast Lane could use it on Diamondback all day, slowing down the regular line. A system like Disney's FastPass, which is free would be a much better option. Or even if the park wants to charge then the Q-Bot system like Dollywood uses. Both of these systems work on a reservation system allowing only so many to use during scheduled intervals during the day. They have very little effect on regular lines and are still very quick for folks using the system. Also these systems allow folks to schedule their day and provide ample free time to spend nickles in the park while waiting for a FastPass window to open. Once again just seems like a poorly executed idea and system. There is not incentive to do anything else in the park, but ride rides. As a company I want to schedule guests ride times so that inbetween those reservations guests can go spend nickles on food and merchandise.

^ If you have never had the chance I would recomend having dinner at the Californial Grill at the Contemporary Resort on a Wishes evening. A very unique perspecitive that makes a great dinner even more memorable.