RailRider

We experienced Disneyland in early February and the crowds were non existent. Great time to visit the park. Also get in early because the locals don't show up until after lunch.

^ I had recently stumbled upons those as well. They are worth the look, Pandora is really shaping up. Also other big Animal Kingdom news is "Tiffins" a new signature restaurant opening at Animal Kingdom next spring.

That bad? Yes it was bad, the rooms are in very bad shape in the main tower(original section of the hotel) and the expansion is getting there The waterpark has great potential but the upkeep is subpar and the cleanliness is very lacking. The overall resort is on a continual downslope, on TripAdvisor it is barely above a 2 star rating and roaches are becoming more and more of a problem. I can tell you in our 2 stays a few years ago we saw a drastic decline in the overall resort and had issues with the front desk staff and how they billed a few things. I always have hope these things improve but periodic review of the reviews continue to emphasize the problems we saw and they seem to be getting worse. We won't be back. We now opt for a trip to Great Wolf, video of our last trip here. (This was from our February Trip this year) Or if you want to head to Pigeon Forge for Winter festivities I highly recomend Wilderness at the Smokies. Awesome resort and we always stay in the Wyndham Vacation Resort Condos on property every New Years.

I did not realize Coco Key was still open. I much prefer resorts like Great Wolf over these much smaller and somewhat questionable resorts. Anyone ever been to Fort Rapids in Columbus? Never again says this former patron.

^ Yes the World we live in. More outrage over Cecil the Lion than the Planned Parenthood Scandal. So yes I agree the world in which we live has its priorities quite messed up.

Other news I hear about the Studios is that the new Pixar Land will open late 2016. Seems ambitious

Are you serious? Ok Joel what was it based on. So... "Hearing it from our guests" is different than "Public Backlash" Keep spinning it SeaWorld, many are no longer buying what you are selling.

Vortex to close out the season.

Unique? Not so sure I would call their attractions outside of Potter World Unique. The majority of their new attractions are simulators or simulator based. Yes sorry the Adventures of Spiderman was unique and awesome, but everything since that uses that technology is just average for me. Then again I am a fan of immersive attractions that don't rely on screens for effects. The Mummy, MiB, Jaws and Jurassic Park (I even loved the original Kong) are some of my favorite Universal Attractions. Why? Because they use or used real effects not a projector and 3D glasses to get the job done. Then again I would argue that the mine scene on 7 Dwarfs Mine Train is better and more immersive than any simulator/movie screen ride Universal has done. I am not hating on Universal but I feel they have fallen in to a rut with everything they do outside of Potter and IOA. I also greatly hope that Kong is more JP River Adventure and less of the tram tour version, but I doubt it.

Just what Universal needs, a new simulator ride.

This sums Haunt up. When you watch a few yellow shirts walk by multiple scareactors who are socializing and just hanging out and these yellow shirts say nothing, but rather acknowledge them and move on and said employees continue to socialize and ignore the numerous guests walking by. I understand actors need a break, go behind the scenes and take your break. Don't do it in the middle of I-Street. Then again I only witnessed one mohawked roamer trying to scare people, he was working very hard every time I saw him. The rest I saw just stood around, socialized or broke character and held conversations with guests.

Was down at Haunt this past Friday and my overall opinion is that Haunt has become uninspired. I have been going to FearFest/Haunt since inception and this years rendition was very underwhelming. The only positive from the night is that lines were short. My thoughts on the park. Lots of fog as always and great use of LED effect lighting throughout the park, but the random placement of props and displays is just odd. Still haven't figured out the purpose of the stage over by the theater in Nightmare Alley and why do they not have a handful of characters roaming that area? Could be a great scare zone. Speaking of actors, not sure how many times I notice characters in scare zones or roamers just standing around and talking with each other or park guests. Seriously? Witnessed multiple statue characters just conversing rather than engaging the crowd as they walked by. I thought one time down I-Street as I walked behind a couple supervisors they would say something to the socializing statues, nope they just smiled and moved on. May as well get your cell phone out and update Facebook while your socializing because that is how pathetic the effort was from most actors. I did notice a few who were menacing the guests, but these actors were far outnumbered by those who came across uninterested. These observations were carried over to the houses we went through as well. Actors just standing and passing the time rather than trying. Groups were small enough they could reset, but instead chose not too or were never set to begin with. I understand these are long nights, but the park and management needs to do a much better job in motivating and incentivizing the actors. Then again when your own app rates most of the houses as not scary, you have sent a message loud and clear you don't care anymore. Overall we left very underwhelmed by the event and this years rendition played as nothing more than a late season cash grab.

Good ole Drachen Fire, a rather well paced Arrow Multi Looper that was rough as all get out. The corkscrew first drop was a bit odd

Say what you will about the ruling in California, but the Sea World response is a joke. There is nothing natural about the Orca breeding program that SeaWorld runs when it is solely based on artificial insemination and is quite the money making operation for the company.

The best part of the launch was the zero g roll at the top, but the launch as a stand alone was nothing spectacular. The pacing at the beginning of the ride is fabulous but the second half like the launch was nothing spectacular. Also I wonder if the constant misting on certain stretches of track led to a need for replacement and rather than just replace specific sections of track they have decided for a huge overhaul? Wonder if they will finally incorporate the originally planned glowing paint

^ Yes and Morimoto Asis has opened to rave reviews. Also the hub expansion at Magic Kingdom is all but done, while not a flashy addition it is a much needed expansion/improvement.

Before I even get in to the pricing, Disney from the beginning was marketed as the Middle Class escape to paradise. If you have not done so, watch the PBS series the American Experience on Walt Disney. Truly a captivating look at the man and the reasons behind Disneyland. Its worth the 4 hours. Regarding price of passes. This is no big surprise, especially in the California market where passholders are viewed as more of a problem than what they are worth. Typically the Passholder/Blogger crowd are the ones who complain when cinnamon rolls are removed, or Starbucks opens or any other so-called Disney sacred cow changes. These folks are not the target consumer for Disney, but they are typically the most vocal. Those who make an annual trip or the once in a lifetime trip the price is on par with most other resort destinations. For example we are taking our next trip in September 2016, staying 7 nights at a Moderate level resort (Port Orleans Riverside), 6 day park ticket and free dinning. We are spending just over $2,200 for a family of 4. Compare that to most tourist areas at that time of year and the price is similar by the time you figure food and entertainment. We could have done a value resort and spent around $1,700 roughly. Seems like a reasonable price to me for a week long vacation with entertainment and dinning.

Could have been up 45% if they would have let a certain member of this site in.

Torture Tower is still the best maze KI has ever done.

Complex and most mechanicals that are in need of inspection and servicing are underwater. Drain and refill everyday? I wonder what is being done to mitigate the wake created from each pass. The water would get very choppy, which is a bad thing for speedboats and since this one is tied to a track something will have to give. The boat hull? Interesting concept but not the first side x side drag race concept. I don't think S&S ever had any takers on the Snow Shot

Daisy is much better than Duffy in my humble opinion

People still say Disney MGM Studios.

The new Indiana Jones themed bar Jock Lindsey's has opened.

Can the parks make these events completely safe? No, because they bring a different crowd and the atmosphere within the park creates a heightened mood (fight or flight). The 2 best options parks have is the hire more off duty officers as security and to require guests 16 and under to have a responsible adult for entry. Would it solve these issues? No, but I think it would be step in the right direction.

#6 is probably about right for KI with the attractions on that list. Then again this is why polls don't mean a whole lot.