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Personally, I think they ought to. The Walt Disney Company just loaned Euro Disney SCA 150 million Euros to finance an expansion of the perpetually-faltering, under-built Walt Disney Studios Park there. In my opinion, Disney brought on foreign operators at a time when Mr. Eisner began to cut costs across the board. That's also when he declared "no more ambitious projects." The build-em-cheap-and-build-em-fast policy that followed is what created the original Disney's California Adventure, Walt Disney Studios Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Under new guidance, the company is correcting the mistakes from that era (obviously the complete re-creation of DCA, the three-land expansion of Hong Kong, and now a "loan" to expand WDS). That era was marked by budgeters replacing imagineers, and it appears that that practice is largely over. At this point, The Walt Disney Company might as well be the operator of its parks (with the exception of Japan's, whose operating Oriental Land Company has proven itself even more aggressive and committed to excellence than the Walt Disney Company).

Burger King, at least, has Coca-Cola Freestyle machines in a few of their restaurants that I've encountered. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a plan to roll them out on a wider scale.

Well, right, I'm sure that will happen. And if what has happened is an indicator of what might happen, spreading Pepsi across the chain seems like it would be the smarter choice. Of course, without threat of a contract ending, Pepsi might not be willing to dig too deep in its pockets anymore, should they be selected next year. But then I consider: SeaWorld Parks just went exclusively Coca-Cola last year; the Disney Parks are Coca-Cola; the Universal Parks are Coca-Cola; just this summer, Six Flags extended its contract with Coca-Cola for ten more years. Perhaps Pepsi realizes that it's quickly being boxed out of these summer destinations, in which case they have every reason to rally for themselves... If Cedar Fair goes Coca-Cola, that'll be a big loss.

Purely from an observer's point of view, I'd so far give Pepsi the upper hand. Seems to me that they've really gotten involved and partnered with the park. Coca-Cola, on the other hand, made a few days' stop at Kings Island (with a traveling truck that was already on tour) and redesigned the Oasis. Doesn't seem like the same mutually beneficial partnership Cedar Point and Pepsi have really begun.

An ongoing piece in the "battle of the bottles" from Pepsi? You can now purchase single-day "Ride & Refresh" tickets to Cedar Point that provide all-day unlimited Pepsi drinks on top of admission. The new ticket option costs $2.00 more than the online single-day gate price, and $6.00 more than the Weekday Saver ticket. Ride and Refresh tickets are valid until September 3rd. Is this an option we might one day see as an available add-on to any ticket option? A season pass? Or what if Pepsi hits the road (not to be confused with Coca-Cola's Swelter Stopper, which hit the road in a different way)? http://www.cedarpoint.com/tickets/# (Filed under "best deals" once you launch the ticket sales client).

Maybe the "it" that broke and was too costly to replace was a filter or pump to keep the water circulating. Ask The Beast how sitting, stagnant water does around a roller coaster.

Kings Dominion's has worked the last two seasons, but only one side of the fountains works and it remains on awkwardly long after the train passes. Canada's Wonderlands ride is more or less known as the most poorly cared-for version of the ride, so I'd tend to doubt that its works. Search for POV videos of it on Youtube then sort by upload date and watch the most recent if you want to see if it works. Here's an official promo-video of PKI's Italian Job that shows the splashdown. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S1xUYgLXc4

Not sure if this is news to anyone or not, but I visited the site today to see if they'd updated Invertigo's page to show its new colors. They did, and it appears that each ride got a new video on its individual page. Flight of Fear's really hits on the theming, Adventure Express's plays some of the rides sound effects. There's even one for BLSC, Boo Blasters, the Carousel, Congo Falls, Viking Fury... Oddly, Diamondback seems to not have a page? Am I missing it? http://www.visitking...do/thrill-rides Check them out if you haven't seen them. I feel like most CF parks, you can go to the "thrill rides" page, but then only one or two rides have their own. Now, each of our rides has its own page and video. Very cool!

Raptor's brother, I see... Their placement is no coincidence to me!

The Red Car Trolley doesn't have great capacity. There are only two, and they cease operation pretty often so one can perform the Red Car News Boys show. There's a switch track in the middle of Hollywoodland that they pass at, so one has to stop there and wait for the other to pass. But at least for right now, they're one-way trip only and I've never seen them full. They're great "background attraction," just the like Main Street vehicles in Disneyland Park (the omnibus, the horse-drawn trolley, the early cars, etc) that have as much function in place-making as they do in transportation. It's also not that helpful as transportation since the once that starts on BVS ends right in front of the Tower of Terror, so unless that or "a bugs land" is your destination, it would be more convenient to walk, really. Still, they're beautiful and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Cars Land Cars Land is the most eagerly anticipated addition to the park since its opening and the highlight of the $1.2 billion, 5-year transformation of the park that completed last month. The scale is absolutely incredible. Be aware that this is a lot like the Grand Canyon; pictures cannot do it justice. The land is massive - on a far larger scale than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There are innumerable details. I still haven't seen either Cars movie, but I am still so stunned by how incredible the land is. The land is a reaction of the films' Radiator Springs, a small town inhabited entirely by cars along Route 66 (the town itself isn't supposed to be located in California, but the fact that Route 66 ends in California and California's massive car culture appears to have given them some wiggle room). Radiator Springs is really just shops lined up along the extra-wide Route 66, ending in the Radiator Springs Courthouse. The buildings are all old time, run-down tourist-trap style curios shops and vintage diners. The highlight, of course, is the six acres of rockwork that creates the town's backdrop (while also creating a berm to hide the nearby Convention Center and the park's massive power supply towers; being able to see outside the park was one of the earliest complaints about DCA, and that is now alleviated along the south side of the park). Luigi's Casa Della Tires is the facade for Luigi's Flying Tires, an attraction that's very heavily based on Disneyland's Flying Saucers, a ride that was removed from Tomorrowland decades ago. It was said to be the pet project of John Lasseter (Pixar's leader). Early rumors circulated in harshly-critical Disneyland communities that Luigi's Flying Tires was a disaster; that early test riders couldn't figure out how to make it move or thought it was boring. Music and giant inflatable Italian beach balls were apparently added after those early test rides. (Promotional image via Disney). The tires are the equivalent of air hockey pucks on a giant air hockey table. Each vent in the ground below blows huge amounts of air that lift the tires on a curtain of air. Riders just lean forwards, backwards, or the side to cause their tire to float in any direction. The Italian music and beach balls add to a fun frenzy of people laughing, reaching for balls, and tossing them at each other against the blowing air vents. Is it intuitive? Not really. But it doesn't take much work to get going and it's just plain old fun. That said, the one lingering complaint is true: the ride has EXTREMELY low capacity and a number of procedures are still being tested out to help group people. Luigi's averaged an hour wait every day while the similar family-flat ride next door was 15 - 25. The real thrill is at night, where the entire land lights up in a nightly neon-lighting ceremony that mimics a famous scene in the movie. The land is covered in real neon, and they all flicker on very cinematically as the land's country-folk mid-century songs play. There's so much entertainment in Cars Land. After the lighting ceremony, a car named DJ drove out into the middle of the street and performed with the help of waitresses from the nearby Flo's V8 Cafe. Throughout the day, characters from the movie drive down the street and meet-and-greet with guests, which can't be easy when we're talking about cars. The backdrop is absolutely breathtaking. Truly all-encompassing, and even up close, you just can't help saying "Wow." It absolutely towers overhead (and it is more than a 120 feet tall, so that makes sense), but the incredible lighting (of course, not captured at even a tenth of its intensity on my iPhone camera) is mind-boggling. It adds so much dimension. As another example of the detail present in the new park, the flowers in Cars Land are tail lights. Real flowers are all "cone" shaped or bright orange. The transition out of Cars Land works very naturally, too, with the rest of the park's lands. The only place where I could immediately tell that a transition would be awkward was between Cars Land (a recreation of larger-than-life Radiator Springs) and the connected "a bug's land" (where an oversized tissue box is a bathroom, a straw is a slide, etc). Even there, they addressed the transition. On the way out of Cars Land and into a bug's land, you pass these signs that make "a bug's land" look like a Route 66 tourist trap. Seriously just a great strategy. I have much more to say and show of Cars Land (including the restaurants, Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, and the E-ticket Radiator Springs Racers) but that'll have to wait for later today. I'll also have reports from "The Rest of California Adventure" and "Disneyland Park."

Hey everyone! I'm at the Disneyland Resort in California right now and wanted to update you guys on what's changed and what hasn't at Disney California Adventure. I have lots of photos and a few days left, but I'll post . some here. I'll also use photos from Yesterland.com (any picture of the "old" California Adventure with the watermark in the lower corner) to help show changes. The entrance to Disney California Adventure in 2001 was Sunshine Plaza. It's centerpiece was a giant golden sun (never officially named, but often called either the Sun Icon or the Hubcap). The Sun Icon was actually nice looking except for the fact that it faced north and therefore, never managed to bathe the Plaza in warm, golden light. Enormous mirrors were affixed to poles, meant to reflect light onto the sun, but they never really worked. Buena Vista Street OLD (Sunshine Plaza): Other than the Sun Icon, Sunshine Plaza didn't contain much else. It was a concrete park for the most part. In front of it, more near to the park's gates there was a "cartoon-ified" replica of the Golden Gate Bridge that served as a bridge for the monorail. A few odd shops scattered around it had the same cartoon-style imagery with gaudy neon lights, smiling sunshines, and concrete. Even now, it's hard to believe that the yellow corrugated steel walls seen below ever made it into a Disney park. All of the exaggerated angles, colors, and placements were purposeful: from the right angle, the park's gates turned into a giant "postcard" so that visitors could literally step into a California postcard. Unfortunately, the effect was often lost on guests. Also keep in mind that Disneyland and California Adventure's entrances are exactly across from each other with a 50 yard plaza between them, so the transition from hyper-realistic Main Street, U.S.A. to a cartoon postcard was jarring. NEW (Buena Vista Street): The new entrance to DCA required brand new gates that stretch out into the plaza to where the CALIFORNIA postcard letters used to be. The new gates are modeled after LA's Pan-Pacific Auditorium, a historic teal set of flag-flying towers. As you can tell, an entire city lies beyond - Buena Vista Street is a complete "town" just like Main Street, U.S.A. with shops, restaurants, and homes all modeled after 1920's Los Angeles. The idea in the new land is that you've stepped into the antique heritage of LA and into the land of opportunity and promise that Walt Disney saw when he arrived with nothing more than a suitcase. The park's main "emporium," for example, is Elias & Co. Department Store. While Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. chronicles the incredible turn-of-the-century period in American history where gas-lamps and electric lights lived together in harmony, Buena Vista Street's timeframe 20 years later is a time when the American economy was booming, gas stations were on every corner, and the high life was in full swing. Here's the inside of the department store with Walt Disney (center) and the Rocketeer (right) recreated in mannequins above. The detail work on the street reminds me of Universal's Islands of Adventure. Every detail is considered: billboards on roofs, wrought-iron lamps, sunset-colored tile work, brick inlays down the center of the street. The wires overhead are for the Red Car Trolley that travels down the street. It's a recreation of the state's famous Pacific Electric Railway trolleys. The wires, by the way, are a prop and don't actually power the trolleys. Two trolleys travel back and forth along the same path from the park's entrance just inside the gates to the base of the Hollywood Tower Hotel (aka, the Tower of Terror) in the park's Hollywoodland. That alone ties the two lands together and adds to the realism - signs all over remind you to take the trolley to the Hollywood Tower Hotel, creating continuity within the whole park. Notice the trash can: "Keep Buena Vista Street Beautiful!" As you can see above, one trolley is out of commission once in a while as the Red Car News Boys and Mickey Mouse dressed in his 1920s gear stop and sing about their willingness to dive into adventure. "Extra! Extra! This just in: Can-do spirit sweeps California!" Inside the Red Car Trolley, authentic, period-specific advertisements direct you to real shops in the park. I also loved the ad for the Hollywood Tower Hotel. Fans of Tower of Terror know that the hotel was struck by lightning in 1939. But here, in the 1920's, it looks like the massive guest towers that we known have not even been built yet! The Golden Gate Bridge was replaced by the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge, a real bridge that Walt traveled to each day on his way to his studio on Hyperion Road. On the other side of the bridge you finally get a good look at the park's new centerpiece. Replacing the Sun Icon is the massive, beautiful Carthay Circle Theater. Since Main Street and Buena Vista Street come across as one continuous path, Buena Vista Street is directly opposite Sleeping Beauty Castle and if you ask me, it earns its place. The real Carthay Circle Theater is the place where Walt Disney premiered the world's first full-length animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. And just that simply, the new icon is a place of importance in both Disney and California history. Was that so hard? Disneyland's Partners statue has always been a favorite. It shows Walt and Mickey Mouse later in their lives staring down Main Street, U.S.A. with their backs to the castle, as if they've reflecting on what they've accomplished together after a lifetime of friendship. For Disney California Adventure's re-opening, a new statue was commissioned. This one, called Storytellers, is of a young Walt and Mickey just as they arrive in the Golden State as young, ambitious friends with just a trunk and suitcase between them. Storytellers is also accessible - people can stand next to it and be "on the same level" as Walt. I also love at Walt and Mickey in Storytellers are not looking back at their accomplishments, but forward toward the goals they hope to achieve, eyes firmly set on the Carthay Circle Theater and the pathways into the park. To be continued...

And anymore, it feels like Werner Stengel and his company have at least something to do with most roller coasters (According to RCDB, 577 out of 2906!).

There was also official concept art for at least one of them becoming the MTV Soundwave using VIACOM's ownership of MTV to create a Rock 'n' Roller Coaster ripoff. The concept art for that ride is now used to advertise the Paramount Park in Spain (alongside new Italian Job coaster artwork).

Cleaning up The Racer would clean up Coney Mall. The recent year's repaints, repaves, and new rides have made it look spectacular, but as long as the centerpiece attraction that runs down the length of the midway is "themed" to a peeling, rusting 70's wooden coaster, the area will feel like a peeling, rusting 70's midway.

Close your eyes. Voila. (In past years, Kings Dominion's operated in complete darkness. This year, it had three LED spotlights - fewer than Kings Island's, but much brighter.) Flight of Fear has nothing in common with Disaster Transport. To suggest that it might be removed since Disaster Transport is is like saying maybe Disneyland will get rid of Space Mountain for the same reason. Totally, totally, totally unrelated. It's still a starring attraction and a fantastic roller coaster that operates fairly well.

That would be a convenient enough reason for McDonalds, won't it? Rather have one machine misreading temperatures than for word to spread that your policy is to serve coffee at a temperature that can cause third degree burns?

That sounds like news to me. Bolded for emphasis. One might wonder: what's going on here?

So, who can Photoshop America's favorite beagle over America's favorite mouse?

I have been? Oops...

I guess I don't even understand how states have laws that require riders to obey park signage (which, in turn, in based on some state's requirement to obey manufacturer recommendations) but then people can still sue when those rules don't favor them. If the park rules say you must have two fully functioning lower extremities to ride a given ride and the law says you must obey that rule, then literally what can someone sue over? The parks are only following the mandate of the state that is following the expertise of the parks and / or the person who built the ride! Is their hope truly that anyone with any level of ability would be allowed on a ride and that it would be considered discrimination to keep them off? Do they understand the ramifications of that? Like, try to make a case that things should be handled on a case-by-case basis if you must, but isn't it a Pandora's Box to say my friend with no legs or arms should be allowed to ride Diamondback?

I guess it's not a legal precedent since no verdict was reached, but in at least the article I linked to above, the park settled with the man for an amount that he claimed barely covered his legal costs and the park did not change its procedures. If he thought he had a case for discrimination, wouldn't he have pursued it instead of letting it go and letting the apparently-awful "discrimination" continue? In that case, there was no change in operating method or policy and why shouldn't that be recalled when this happens once or twice a year? Last year, wasn't it a ride at Cedar Point that kept a woman off due to a missing limb and she sued? What happened there? Have any of these cases ever gone to trial? I just can't imagine in a million years that an amputee would win and that suddenly parks would HAVE to change their policies to let on riders without legs or without arms. It's insanity. ^ And truthfully, that doesn't sound too far off. Same thing, right? "The lapbar clicked, what do I care if some Swiss engineer says it has to click twice? You're discriminating against me for my size!" (On each B&M coaster at Busch Gardens, by the way, certain seats are equipped for amputees, and certain seats are equipped for larger riders).

Precedent says that they weren't discriminated against. My frail, sickly, 95 year old grandmother takes four hours to shuffle her way back to Flight of Fear, looking exhausted and near collapsing just from the walk. Is the park agist if they do not allow her to ride? But even that's different, because in the case of missing limbs, clearly stated rules require that they not ride, and doesn't Ohio law state that riders obey all guidelines and read safety signs before riding amusement rides? Again, the annoying thing is that these people are missing limbs, but then act surprised and appalled when they arrive at a ride and have - gasp - different rules applied to them for their own safety. And it's not as if there are absolutely no instances of things going wrong when amputees do get on these rides! And just as frustrating, the park will probably settle out of court and keep their policies while the plaintiff will go about their merry way, forgetting the "discrimination" that they alleged they were fighting against in favor of a payout.

Every B&M ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Tampa was equipped special securing brackets so that people with amputations or missing limbs could ride in certain seats. Before the installation, anyone with an amputation above the knee could not ride the B&M coasters while anyone with an amputation above the ankle couldn't ride Apollo's Chariot. http://www.buschgardensvablog.com/making-coasters-accessible For everything there is a reason. (That was seven years ago. The man and Busch Gardens settled out of court for an amount that "barely covered his lawyer fees." The 2011 article is primarily there to reflect on the tragedy at Darien Lake, but notes of Montu at Busch Gardens: "But amputees wearing prosthetic limbs above the knee are still not allowed to ride the 60-mph roller coaster on which riders' legs dangle freely." From that article: Also: But let's bring the car around again and go through the legal process required to arrive at the same decision: policies are in place to keep people safe. Instead of being shocked and appauled, anyone missing a major limb should recognize their responsibility to contact the park beforehand and read every sign they can find to determine their ability to ride. I guess my annoyance is that if I was missing a leg, I would accept that I will probably be limited and contact the park to discuss my options. That requires, though, that park representatives know - and for that matter, have - a strictly adhered-to policy in place that all employees know and are not afraid to enforce.) What if I take legal action because my child isn't tall enough to ride The Beast? What if I SWEAR that my child is mature enough to hold on tight and to make good decisions on the ride? What if I tell the ride operator that my child has safely ridden The Beast before by standing on his tip-toes? Manufacturer recommendations and park procedure be darned, right? ... Until something happens.

From your profile, I see you were born in 1993, so consider: just because you watched Barney in 1995 doesn't mean the world was a place of love, hugs, and singsong kum ba yahs in that year! The 90's weren't squeaky clean and people weren't puritanical back then, even if things are "looser" today. That said, I don't think it was the general public who had a problem with the name Banshee anyway. There was no Facebook or Twitter on which to hear about OR complain about the name. What it comes down to, to me, is that it's a pretty bad name for a ride. but what do I know?